The Interference IV: Dark Renegade
by Newbie-Spud
Summary: After a short break to stop and reflect, Alexander heads off alone to the dangerous world of Jak II. But in his quest to stop the Heartless apprentices, he'll be dragged further into the dark than even he might handle. The world's taint leaves a mark...
1. To Our Surprise

**The Interference IV: Dark Renegade**

Prologue  
To Our Surprise

"...So I finally managed to get us all into Elaeus's little pocket dimension after absorbing the remains of the Epoch, and that's where we defeated him. Guardia finally held its Moonlight Parade, and we returned to Amestris shortly after sending the rest of the group to their respective times. And that's pretty much the long and short of it."

The popular Kingdom Hearts II characters known as Sora, Riku, and Kairi listened to their friend wrap up his tale as they sat on one of the beaches of Destiny Islands. The person telling the tale was none other than Alexander Karsath, the Interference.

The "Interference" phenomenon happens when a person's heart becomes connected with the world of an interactive story, like a video game. The world in question is brought into existence, along with its characters, and the person who connected becomes sucked into the world at the beginning of the story. They are thus called Interferences, due to the nearly inevitable changes that their presence causes to the game's storyline. And to protect their identity upon their return, time stops in the "real" world for that length of time.

Alex Karsath became the Interference of Kingdom Hearts II two weeks previously in the real world's time. He acquired a weapon called the Lockshield, the direct equal and opposite of Sora's Keyblade, and managed to learn to fight with the world's techniques and abilities as he was forced to fight alongside the Keyblade Master and his friends. He made a couple of changes to the game's storyline, the most notable of which being the prevention of Axel's death and his subsequent restoration to a full human with a heart.

Two weeks after his return, on the midnight of Alexander's fifteenth birthday, his sister, Erica, became an Interference of the game Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir. Fearing that the universe of that anime-based game would be less merciful than that of Kingdom Hearts II (and also knowing his sister's fangirl nature), Alexander went in after her to protect her (and the main characters).

Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one hopping across game universes. The missing apprentices of Ansem the Wise, known as Braig, Dilan, Elaeus, Even, and Ienzo, came out of hiding to study the Interference phenomenon. Dilan was the one who came into the Fullmetal Alchemist universe, and he managed to kidnap Erica. On top of that, he exploited the tension between brother and sister to influence Erica to turn herself into a Heartless, in the hopes that this conflict would prove too much for Alexander.

Alexander bested his sister's Heartless and destroyed her, along with Dilan. In a move to distract himself from his sister's combined suicide and betrayal, he immediately went along to the next game universe, and the Elric brothers – the protagonists of the Fullmetal Alchemist universe – joined him for that adventure. They went to the world of Chrono Trigger, an old Square-Enix classic RPG in which the group transcended time in the world called Guardia.

On top of having learned how to use alchemy in Amestris, Alexander learned Lightning magic in Guardia. Near the end of it, as he mentioned, he also began to learn how to use the Chronos abilities – magics to move through time with. They were crucial in the final battle.

_**Although he named one of those Chronos abilities after Cloud's Omnislash,**_ a sarcastic disembodied voice sounding just like Alexander's spoke out, which only the four of them could hear. This was Joumae, Alexander's dark counterpart. Joumae represented the will of the Lockshield, and was essentially created by the imbalance of darkness and light within Alexander's heart. And because Sora, Kairi, and Riku were familiar with having secondary personalities within them (namely being Roxas, Naminé, and the late Heartless of Xehanort), they could all hear each other's counterparts.

Sora blinked at this description. "You _what_?" he mumbled.

Alexander scowled. "Well, you have to understand that it was a last minute decision. I knew what kind of effect I wanted, and I knew how to pull it off with the time loops, but I was missing a name to, y'know, _incant_. So that was the first idea that came to my head."

Riku chuckled at Alexander's defense. "Well, just shows how creative you are with your abilities." At this, Joumae laughed.

_**Well,**_ Sora's Nobody, Roxas, joined in, **_I guess the technique could use a rename anyway. It'd be bad to end up fighting alongside Cloud and be forced to use that in front of him._**

Alex sighed and nodded. But a silence descended on the group as they failed to come up with another name for the Chronos Omnislash ability. This silence lasted for a few moments, but then one of the counterparts broke it. _**Paradox, maybe?**_ It was Naminé, Kairi's Nobody.

Kairi thought about it for a moment, and nodded at Alex. "That sounds nice. Especially if it's done by setting up a bunch of overlapping time loops. A paradox is the only way to describe it!"

Sora grinned. "The Chronos Paradox it is!"

Alexander rolled his eyes. "Hey, don't I get a say in what my abilities are called?" he asked jokingly, but he then shrugged. It was a good name for it.

"You know..." Riku began to say, putting on a thoughtful look, "this Paradox ability seems like it'd be good for more than just the Omnislash technique. If you could create closed time loops to bring more of yourself to the present, the possibilities..." He trailed off purposefully.

_**Yeah, so best not to restrict it to the Omnislash,**_ Joumae agreed to fill the silence.

"Well, **that** got off track fast," Alex remarked. "Now, where was I?"

The Kingdom Hearts trio gave each other a glance. "Actually, you finished your story," Kairi pointed out. "I think you covered just about everything."

_**Except that Alex has a crush on Lucca!**_ Joumae obnoxiously interrupted, making the others jump. Alexander blushed and flustered a little, tired of this teasing. As small the likelihood was that he'd admit it, he and Lucca had become more than positive acquaintances.

"Really...?" Riku asked, a smirk on his face as usual. "Surprising, coming from the guy that complained about Sora and Kairi's reunion being too 'mushy'."

The other three blushed, while the counterparts in their heads started laughing. Eventually, a flustered Alexander said, "Look, there's nothing really... tangible.. yet!" Finally, he got up from his seat on the beach and looked out to sea, taking deep breaths to calm down.

As the last bouts of mirth escaped from the group, Alex said, "Well, now my plan is to get a day off before I head out and face another of the apprentices. I've yet to celebrate my birthday... and, well... I don't know how people will react to my sister's sudden disappearance. I gotta see how things are gonna turn out."

Sora and the others stood up as well. The Keyblade Master nodded at him and said, "Yeah, we understand. See you later, Alex."

"See ya," Kairi added.

Riku nodded. "Take care of yourself. And try not to get killed this time."

Alexander winced but smiled back, and then held up his right hand. It became covered in an inky black smoke for a moment, and his weapon was in his hand when the smoke dissipated. It was a moderately large, round, dark green shield with a keyhole in the center and the Heartless emblem in the center. This was the Heartless Seal Lockshield, the Kingdom Hearts design of the shield.

Alex pointed the center of the shield toward the sea and shouted, "_Unlock_!" A bright blue beam shot out from the keyhole in the center of the Lockshield, and stabbed into the air just above the water flowing in. A ripple formed in the air, expanding until it was as tall as Alexander, before it suddenly tore through the space and formed a dark portal. Without any further words, Alex ran forward and jumped into the portal.

The very next second, Alex was standing in a dark, second-story apartment by himself. The dark portal closed behind him, revealing the television and game systems behind him. He was back in the real world; back in his own home. Alex sighed and knelt down, disconnecting the Super Nintendo from the VCR and removing the Chrono Trigger game cartridge.

Joumae chuckled in Alex's mind, and the boy sent querying thoughts toward Joumae's section of his mind. _**Ahem... Well, now we know that the Interference phenomenon isn't dependent on which game system is plugged in.**_

Alex quirked an eyebrow as he picked the game system up and started carrying it back into his room. "Well, what did you expect?" he asked, using his current solitude to voice his thoughts aloud. "That I'd suddenly come across a PS2 _and_ an SNES that could make games real? And nobody else had?"

_**Well, that type could've been on backorder,**_ Joumae suggested with a mental grin. There was a pause as Alex entered his cluttered bedroom and set the SNES equipment on the desk near the door. **_Point is, our lives haven't been based on week premises. If only people could write fanfiction without such weaknesses..._**

Alex chuckled as he started changing into his pajamas. "You've been digging into my memories, haven't you?" He hung his magicked traveling garments up and looked at his digital clock. 12:10 AM. He'd been through no less than two harrowing adventures, and only ten minutes had gone by in his world. Astounding, but he was beginning to get used to the effect.

Finally, Alex turned off the light and tucked himself into bed. Now that his magical garments were off, his lack of sleep was quickly catching up to him. "G'night, Joumae."

_**Goodnight,**_ Joumae replied. **_And good luck in the morning._**

Alexander shifted to laying on his side, and let out a deep sigh. He didn't exactly want to be reminded of what was ahead of him.

* * *

At long last, the morning sun rose to shine on the west coast of America. At about seven-o'-clock, the knob of the apartment's front door shook as someone outside fumbled in unlocking it with a key. At last, the door opened up, and a full-figured brunette woman wearing a dark business outfit and glasses stepped in.

The woman placed her purse near the door and hung up the keys up on the shelf nearby. She then walked into Alexander's room. The boy was asleep, obviously, and quite soundly. Smiling, the woman walked over to Alex and gently shook his shoulder.

The boy groaned, and rolled back to peek up at his mother. Wendi Karsath grinned at her waking son and whispered, "Happy birthday, Alex."

Alex nodded slowly. "Thanks, mom..." he mumbled, his voice revealing his grogginess.

Wendi nodded back. Alex liked to sleep in, especially during the summer. She started to walk out of the room, and moved toward the door right next to Alex's bedroom door. Looking back, she said, "Make sure you wake me up before noon; your dad's coming then." She then opened the door and walked in.

Alexander blinked as he watched this. Something was wrong here, but... The realization made his eyes go wide. She'd just gone into Erica's bedroom! Alex threw off his covers and ran out to the door, and swung around to look into Erica's room.

His mother, having just taken off her jacket, looked back at him with a confused expression. "Yes?" she asked.

Alex's jaw dropped. The room was _completely_ different. The bunk bed was gone, replaced by a single bed and mattress. Gone was the shelf full of manga and merchandise, replaced by a desk with a computer and printer on it. And instead of two cabinets for clothes – one for mom and one for Erica – there was only one.

_**Get ahold of yourself, man...**_ Joumae whispered, his tone dead serious.

Alexander gulped and straightened himself. His sudden burst of energy in the panic was now fading. "Um... nothing, I guess. You go to sleep." After all, since his mother worked the graveyard shift, she'd need to sleep during most of the day to be ready for the night.

His mother smiled and nodded again, and Alex closed the door slowly. His eyes stayed wide as he walked back into his room in his tee-shirt and shorts, wondering what was going on. It seemed that all evidence of Erica had...

_**It must be a part of the universal failsafe law,**_ Joumae explained. **_When someone dies as an Interference, that person is completely erased from the real world altogether. In every way. No memories, no belongings, no official records... Heck, your parents had never even-_**

"Alright," Alex muttered, cutting Joumae off before he could elaborate. But despite the risqué example, the point was clear. In order to keep the phenomenon hidden, every trace of Erica had been erased. Only Alexander remembered how it had once been, simply because he hadn't been in the real world at the time.

Alexander sat on the edge of his bed, and stared off into space contemplatively. His whole life was different now... It would be harder to simply pretend that everything was normal. Harder to pretend that he hadn't been through a dangerous adventure. Pretend that he hadn't been killed and brought back to life through a time paradox. That he didn't have an obnoxious bastard as a mental copilot.

Catching this train of thought, Joumae said, **_Well, it's better this way. Would you rather have your parents know that one of their children sacrificed herself for the sake of power? Or that the other one was in charge of dispatching her?_**

Alex sighed. There wasn't any way around Joumae's argument. Silent once more, he held up his hand and stared at it. He summoned the Heartless Seal Lockshield, then switched it to the Crimson Catalyst, then the Time Fracture, and then dismissed the shield. What use would those things be here? There was no use for them, and using them would only attract unwanted attention to himself.

The only way to use his abilities would be to go back into a game universe. But to do so at that very moment would be just running away again, like he'd done from Amestris to Guardia. No, he was determined to get through today and live more of his life without incident.

_**Tonight, then?**_ Joumae asked curiously. Alex simply nodded.

* * *

The doorbell rang once. Only once, and a long moment passed before the pressure on the doorbell was released, letting the second tone ring out. Alexander ran to the door and quickly opened it. Standing outside was a fairly tall man with brown, short hair. He was wearing a blue denim jacket with a black shirt underneath, blue jeans, and black sneakers. The man also had a big black backpack strapped to him, and it looked stuffed.

The man grinned. "Hey there, rugrat," he greeted Alex as he walked in.

Alex smirked and closed the door behind him. "Hey, dad."

Wendi, now awake and dressed in a baggy shirt and slacks, walked into the living room as the man did. "Peter! Good to see you again."

Peter Karsath placed his backpack down on the couch. "What, you thought I'd miss the spud's birthday?" he asked sarcastically, unzipping the main pouch of the backpack.

Joumae chuckled in Alex's mind. He'd only been able to be around the father a couple of times before this, but he'd immediately liked him. Peter's sense of humor was at a level of irreverence quite similar to Joumae's. _**So, you're the Spud, huh?**_

Alex knew better than to react to Joumae around his family. As he walked over to his dad, his mother walked into the kitchen. Alex peered into the backpack and saw a few packages wrapped in birthday-themed wrapping paper. Birthday presents.

Meanwhile, Wendi pulled out a chocolate cake she'd baked the day before from the refrigerator and placed it on the counter. Peter took out all of the presents and spread them out on the couch. Alex grinned when he saw the shape of some of the presents. It was hard to miss that familiar rectangular shape.

The parents sang "Happy Birthday" to Alex, and fifteen candles were blown out. The presents, afterward, consisted of a variety of items. As he suspected, there were a few video games, which were _Ratchet: Deadlocked_ and _Jak X: Combat Racing_ for the PS2, and _Mario Kart DS_.

There was a book called _The Infinite Book_ by John D. Barrow. It seemed to be basically a book about the history and applications of infinity in all forms. This was obviously an improvement on last year's math book gift, which was entitled _Coincidences, Chaos, and All That Math Jazz_ by Edward B. Burger and Micheal Starbird. _**Wow... You're **_**really**_** a math nerd, aren't you?**_

Alex sent a thought Joumae's way that more or less said, _Better than a fanboy._

Two more presents were there. One was a digital camera, something Alex had been curious about having for a while. The other was a T-shirt. It was entirely black, save for a strange warning sign in the middle:

**WARNING:  
**Rays cast from this shirt travel at over 650,000,000 MPH.

Alexander laughed, and Peter grinned at his reaction. "See, I couldn't really pass that up when I saw that in the store."

_**Geez... Alex Karsath: Adventurer by night, math **_**geek****_ by day._**

Alex rolled his eyes, out of his parents' view. He mentally insisted that he wasn't really that bad, but Joumae wouldn't have any of it.

* * *

After all the short festivities were taken care of, his father finally left to catch the bus to his own home in northeast Portland, and his mother resumed her nap for work. Alex took some time to play _Mario Kart DS_, since it wasn't likely to be a game that he'd make an Interference in.

Because Joumae warned him, _**We've got to be careful of games that your heart might connect to accidentally. Like Sonic the Hedgehog? Simply loading any one of those games up would suck us right into it, you fanboy.**_

Alex scowled. "Hey, look," he muttered in the privacy of his own room, "Sonic was pretty much what brought me into gaming. We used to have a Sega Genesis in our old house, before the divorce." He chuckled after a moment, and added, "Actually, my mom told me a story one time about how, when I was three years old, I'd sit around and play Sonic Spinball to entertain myself. I'd end up killing myself over and over again, but apparently being able to control the slightest thing was enough for me."

Joumae was silent for a moment. _**Well, that explains a lot.**_

At last, nine-o'-clock came around, and Alex woke Wendi up. His mother took a shower and got ready for work, and she was at the door by nine-thirty. "Goodnight, Alex," Wendi said warmly as she opened the door. "See you in the morning."

Alex gave her an empty smile back. "See you," was all he could say, for he knew what he was about to do. He closed the door behind his mother, and waited a moment before locking the deadbolt. He then walked into his room and stared down through the blinds of his window.

Once his mother's red Cavalier was out of the driveway, Alex sighed and looked over at the shelf across from his bed, where he kept most of his games. _**So, where are we headed next, Alex? Remember the criteria...**_

Alex nodded. He needed to know the game backwards and forwards. He needed to like the game and story well enough for his heart to connect with it. It needed to be a plausible enough world so that he'd have little trouble maneuvering. And it needed to be suitable for facing the next apprentice that would appear in that world once he entered.

Unfortunately, his parents didn't buy games often, and the lack of Erica's presence hadn't improved his game collection. He still had a bunch of cheap anime knock-offs. Stuff from anime like Inuyasha and YuYu Hakusho. Yeah. The Fullmetal Alchemist and Naruto universes had some decent games, he'd admit. But the aforementioned game choices had hindered Alex from buying more games that he thought were worth buying.

Finally, his gaze rested on a series of PS2 games that he was very familiar with. What was more, it wasn't developed by Square-Enix...

_**What's wrong with Square?!**_ Joumae snapped, sounding almost offended.

Alex sighed as he glossed over the series, including his newest addition to it. "Square's got some great games and all, but it's not like there aren't any good stories beyond their development. I'd like to broaden my choices before I get myself into a rut."

_**Okay, okay... What game did you pick, anyway?**_

Finally, Alex pulled out one of the four games he'd been looking over. It was a Greatest Hits title for the PS2, and one of his favorites. "My friend..." he said with a proud, dramatic air, "we're going into the world of Jak II."

* * *

**Disclaimer: Alexander, Joumae, the Lockshield, the overall concept of The Interference, and related concepts and characters are the intellectual property of Newbie-Spud. _Kingdom Hearts_, _Fullmetal Alchemist_, and _Chrono Trigger_ and their characters and concepts belong to Square-Enix and its business partners. _Jak and Daxter_ and related concepts and characters are the property of Naughty Dog, Inc.**


	2. Welcome to Haven

Chapter 1  
Welcome to Haven

_For every age there is a time of trial._

Just outside of the bright, calm village of Sandover was the island upon which the hut of Samos the Sage was situated. And to the east of the large hut, a large wooden ramp had been built, leading up to a tall, shining gate suspended in the air. At the end of the ramp was a short man with faintly green skin, a long white beard, and long elf-like ears. A short section of a thick log was tied to his head, on which a small blue bird was perched. He wore a strange, mismatched set of spectacles, wore a green tunic, held a wooden staff in his hand, and walked around on tall wooden platform shoes. Samos, the Sage of Green Eco, looked up at the gate as he continued to think.

_The rocks faced such a fire before they were the strength beneath our feet. The plants braved vast winds before their roots could give us life._

Samos turned around to see what was set up behind him. At the beginning of the ramp was a large, silver vehicle of sorts, with a gigantic cylindrical engine at the back of it. Three figures were situated on it. On the left was a tall young man wearing a blue outfit and a small amount of armor, who had bright yellow-green hair and blue eyes. Like everyone else in this world, he also had long, pointed, elf-like ears.

On the right was a green-haired young woman wearing a pair of goggles hanging around her neck, a white tank top, and blue denim pants. And then, napping on the front end of the vehicle, there was an orange-furred cross between an otter and a weasel (an Ottsel) wearing a pair of pilot's goggles on its furry head.

The Sage started walking toward the vehicle. _As a sage of considerable years, I have known only one such great ordeal. But the hero it created was a champion for all time!_ Nodding to himself, he looked up at the youths and said, "Today's the big day, Jak. I hope you are prepared..." He paused, and took on a solemn look. "...for whatever happens."

With a contemplative look on her face, Samos's daughter, Keira, looked over at the bulk of the machine they were standing on. "I think I've figured out most of this machine. It interacts somehow with that large Precursor Ring." As she and Jak sat down beside each other in the vehicle, she added, "I just hope we didn't break anything moving it here to the lab..."

Suddenly, the orange Ottsel, Daxter, suddenly popped up between them with an angry look. "Easy for you to say!" Daxter snapped, gesturing at his friend Jak. "_We_ did all the heavy lifting!"

Finally, Daxter settled into the seat and reached toward a hemispherical orange metal object on the confusing dashboard. But just as he was about to touch it, Samos shouted out, "**Daxter!!** Don't touch anything!" and the Ottsel flinched.

Samos glared at Daxter. "Though the Precursors vanished long ago," he lectured in an angry voice as Jak rolled his eyes, "the artifacts they left behind can still do great harm!"

Daxter rolled his eyes and scowled, sick and tired of Samos's lecturing on the Precursors. On the other side of him, Keira tried to lighten the mood by adding, "Or great good! If you figure out how to use them."

Samos sighed and settled into his seat. After a moment, he glanced over at Jak. "I've had some experience with such things. ...I know you can make it work."

Jak nodded silently, and leaned toward the controls with a smirk.

* * *

Alexander sat on the couch in his living room, holding the PS2 controller in his hands as he watched the opening scene of Jak II. In his mind, Joumae was trying to sort out all of the minuscule details. _**So... Jak's the hero, and he never talks?**_

"Yeah," Alex replied, pressing the Start button to pause the scene. "He's kinda like Crono in that way. I don't think he's mute; he probably just doesn't feel the need to talk."

_**Okay... And Daxter, he... He was a normal elf-type person at the beginning of the first game, but he got transformed?**_

"They're still called human, Joumae," Alex pointed out. "It's just the ears. And yes, Daxter fell into a pool of Dark Eco. The main quest of the first adventure was to try and change Daxter back, but... that kinda fell through, and they ended up saving the world instead.

Joumae chuckled. **_Heh. Suckers. ...And this "Eco" stuff...?_**

Alexander paused for a moment. "It's... the magic life force of the planet. And there are different types to it. Green Eco is healing, Red Eco is high-strength, Yellow Eco is ranged ability, Blue Eco is speed, and Dark Eco is harmful chaos. There's supposedly Light Eco too, but it's rarely ever seen until Jak 3."

_**Wow,**_ Joumae remarked. **_You've apparently played it a lot, to know so freakin' much about it. ...Come to think of it, why haven't you entered the game yet?_**

Alex scowled. "Because the overall timeline of this story goes over the course of more than two years, and the gameplay starts after the end of the second year. I don't want to get stuck before that happens, so I'm waiting before I enter."

_**Gah... Coulda told me sooner.**_

"Couldn't you have just looked into my memories anyway?" Alex retorted, and pressed the Start button again to resume the scene.

* * *

Jak's hand automatically strayed toward a red ruby button, and – after a moment's hesitation – he slammed the button forward. Immediately, the round spherical object Daxter had tried to reach opened up, revealing a golden orb and a series of rings and spheres that encircled it in midair suspension.

Daxter grinned as they all reveled in this achievement. "Looks like Jak's still got the mojo!"

Keira studied the strange activity closely. "Interesting... It appears to be reading out some preset coordinates!"

Before anyone could ask how she'd been able to discern that, the strange device clamped shut again, and the ground started to shake as the device began to start moving. The disk behind their vehicle began to rotate, the points of it zapping the gate ahead of them with violet sparks, and a dark aura settled around the area.

After a few seconds, the gate began to rotate in midair as well, and it broke off its wooden supports as it settled itself at the end of the ramp in front of them. A violet-blue portal filled up the center of the rings.

Just about everyone was slack-jawed. "Wow..." Daxter gasped, "look at that!"

But the fun was about to end. Almost immediately, a dark, sinister voice boomed out from the direction of the gate: _"Finally... the last Rift Gate has been opened!!"_ As soon as the statement was made, dark gray, metallic, insect-like creatures started pouring out of the gate, swarming the immediate area.

"Gyaah!" Daxter cried, and ducked under the dashboard in cowardice. "What are those things!?" But despite his query, no one could answer him.

However, Samos was looking around at this with a look of understanding. "So _this_ is how it happened..."

Then, just as quickly, a gigantic metallic monster thrust forth from the Rift Gate and roared loudly, baring its lengthy jaws menacingly. Suspended by the gate, the monster then looked down at the vehicle and seemed to stare directly at one of them. _"You cannot hide from me, boy!"_

Keira, overcome with fear, looked over to the established hero and screamed, "Do something, Jak!"

Daxter looked over the controls frantically. "What's this do? Or that? How 'bout this one!? Everybody, press all the buttons!!"

In a flash of insight, Jak pressed the same button as before. In an instant, the vehicle was sent shooting forward, and they were moving right toward the huge monster...

But they managed to slip by under it, squeezing into the portal. Suddenly they found themselves zooming through a tunnel of violet light, with their vehicle shaking violently with all of the energy around them.

"What was that thing?" Keira demanded as she vainly tried to recover.

Everyone tried to resist the g-forces pulling them back, and Samos shouted, "Hang on, everyone!!"

"**Yyaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!**" Daxter screamed until his breath ran out. On his next breath, he looked to Jak and shouted, "I want off this thing!!"

At that moment, a particularly strong bolt of energy struck the shaking vehicle. It was enough force to send a series of explosions rattling through it, and the vehicle soon broke apart entirely. Jak, Daxter, Samos, and Keira were sent into the violet energy in all directions, with Jak and Daxter the only ones not getting separated.

"Find yourself, Jak!" Samos cried out before the bright light at the end of the portal overtook the protagonist.

* * *

As soon as the white light filled the whole screen, the light began to shine more brilliantly from the living room's television set, and soon Alexander had to shield his eyes.

At the last second, both the Interference and his counterpart realized what was happening. _**Oh, crap... CRAP!!**_

* * *

The next thing Alexander knew was pain. He slammed onto a harsh metal surface after a short fall, and he sprawled across the floor. Because of the impact, he wouldn't dare open his eyes for a few moments. But as soon as most of the pain passed, he quickly got back up and – holding his head to support himself – looked around.

The sight was spectacular. He was on a metal walkway suspended a long way up from the streets of the city below and around him. Tall, metal buildings surrounded him, with a gigantic tower in the distance held up by many support beams. Below, many people were driving around in what looked like floating cars and bikes. It was a sharp contrast to the simple village of Sandover.

He heard a metal clanging to the side, and Alex turned quickly to check the noise. Daxter, a few feet away, had still held on to a piece of the vehicle's handlebar, and had then thrown it away angrily. Jak was standing next to him, just now having gotten up to look around.

Daxter growled at the piece of metal. "Okay," he muttered. "I _swear_... that's the last time I ever – **ever!** – touch any stupid Precursor crap!"

By the time Daxter had finished speaking, the sound of many heavy footsteps could be heard approaching them. All three of them looked to both sides, only making eye contact with each other for a moment. Large, red-armored troopers bearing rifles were approaching them quickly and harshly. On Jak's side, there was a lean man in red and yellow armor with dark green stripes painted on his upper face and ears, wearing a sinister mask on top of his head that covered his spiky orange hair. This was apparently the leader of this group.

"There he is," a slightly statical voice came from one of the other troopers. A voice filter. The man in the middle on Jak's side made a "follow" motion, and the guard said, "Move in."

Jak, Daxter, and Alexander soon found themselves surrounded by troopers, staring down the barrels of the rifles. One of the troopers growled, "Step away from the animal!"

"**Yaaahhhh!**" Daxter shouted, ducking through the leader's legs as he ran away screaming. Alex just watched all this in horror, the fact of what was happening slowly dawning on him.

"Forget the rat!" the leader snapped when one of the guards turned to follow. Glaring at Jak, he sneered and said, "The Baron wants _him_!"

Jak stared wide-eyed and took a hesitant step back as one of the guards moved closer. The leader grinned evilly and said, "We've been waiting for you." At that moment, the guard held up the butt of his rifle and slammed it against Jak's head. The boy fell unconscious immediately, and slumped to the floor.

"Don't worry, Jak!" Daxter's faint voice could be heard before the Ottsel went out of sight. "I'll save ya before you know it!"

Suddenly the attention was now on Alexander, and the Interference froze up as the troopers all stared at him. The leader quirked an eyebrow and said, "Well, what do we have here?"

"What's up with the guy's ears?!" one of the guards asked incredulously. One of Alex's hands immediately strayed to his ear, and he realized for a moment that _**he**_ was the one that looked strange in this world.

The leader scowled after a moment and said, "Hmph. Take him in, too."

An instant after it was said, Alexander felt a metal object slam into the back of his head, and he fell forward in incredible pain. His world almost went to black then and there, but he tried to recover. But the soldiers gave him no respite. Another heavy object slammed into his gut, and Alexander sprawled onto his back.

The last thing he saw was a metal boot being lifted over his head, before his world erupted into blinding pain.

* * *

It was hard to tell how much time had passed before he regained consciousness again. But at that particular moment, that wasn't on the mind. The only things that were of interest were that he was sore as heck, he was lying down on something cold and rough, and his clothes were... itchy?

Groaning, Alex slowly opened his eyes. He didn't see much at first, but after a while his vision began to clear. And even then, there wasn't much to see. Just a metal ceiling. So Alex sat up and got the full view.

He was inside a small prison cell. A wide set of steel bars kept him from the hallway outside. His cell seemed to be at the end of a long hall, and he could see many more cells on the way toward the entrance. He had been apparently placed at the end, because the few cells across and next to him were empty.

Still, many of those observations only crossed his mind sparingly. At the moment, the shock was becoming apparent. He was in prison! Not only that, but–

_**We got placed in here two years before the gameplay started!!**_ Joumae screamed into Alex's mind, making his sore head ache even more. **_Your stupid heart connected with the game in the middle of this scene, and now we're _stuck_ here! ...Wherever 'here' is!_**

Alex sighed – trying his very best not to panic – and closed his eyes. He mentally went through as much lore about their current situation as he needed so that Joumae could look over it. This was Haven City, a city established in the far future compared to Sandover. It was ruled by Baron Praxis, a militaristic autocrat whose Krimzon Guards helped keep the people repressed and under control.

The Interference opened his eyes again, and suddenly looked down at himself. He went wide-eyed. No wonder his clothes felt itchy! His magicked garments had been completely removed and had been replaced by a dirty brown prison tunic and trousers!

"Crap," he muttered, standing up. Upon doing so, he also realized that he had no shoes on to protect him from the cold metal floor. "This is a problem."

_**You're telling me,**_ Joumae replied when he'd processed the information. **_Without the magic garments that you got from the Kingdom Hearts universe, you won't be able to recharge magic power automatically, and you won't be able to absorb damage so easily. So, whatever you're planning..._**

"Planning?" Alex replied quietly, shaking his head. His hair, no longer kept eternally spiky, threatened to block his sight. "I don't have a plan. Things have gotten so screwed up that I'm at a loss of what to do..."

_**Well, start thinking. We've got time.**_

"Don't remind me," he growled. At last, he took a deep breath to calm himself as he analyzed their situation. They were stuck two years before the game started. And since he wouldn't be able to leave until the game was finished... His heart sunk as he realized that he was stuck in this world for _two whole years_.

"Unless..." Alex muttered suddenly, his eyes widening again. He held out his hand and summoned the Time Fracture Lockshield from the darkness. "_Chronos Warp_!"

The Interference put all of his focus and energy into activating the time-warping technique. All the while, he kept concentrating on moving exactly two years forward. Space began to slightly warp around him... But then Alex suddenly dropped to the ground with labored breath, and the warping stopped. Why was it so hard to get a time warp going! It felt as if... he needed a hundred times more power in order to pull it off!

_**Gah... This world doesn't have any specific 'holes' in its timeline for you to just jump to. In Guardia it was convenient. But this world would probably require huge amounts of energy. Stopping time and creating small loops shouldn't be too much of a problem, but the actual warping would require much, much, **_**much****_ more power than you've got now._**

"Auuugh!!" Alex screamed, and slammed against the wall in frustration. "We're stuck here!"

_**We've established that,**_ Joumae muttered pointedly. **_Now, back to the planning..._**

Alex growled unintelligibly, but went back to his thoughts. By any guess, they were in the Fortress. The prison he'd seen in the game looked different and much more secure than this one, but perhaps that was a different section. Nonetheless, it wasn't a prison that would be especially difficult to escape from, especially with alchemy.

_**And heck, we might as well get out and try helping out if we're going to be stuck here for two years... You'd have to be an idiot to stay in prison when you have a good method of escape.**_

Alexander thought through his plan carefully. He didn't exactly know how he'd get out, but the use of alchemy would take care of any barriers, and enough time would allow him to get out. As soon as he was discovered, an alarm would most likely be set off, and the KG would be hunting him down. Any taken shots would do more damage than usual because of his lack of armor.

_**Transmute some armor.**_

"I'm not a tailor!" Alex growled. "I wouldn't be able to make anything that would fit me and not be cumbersome. At best, I could make some shoes..." He trailed off, and clapped his hands. He placed one hand on the wall next to him, which glowed with green sparks for a moment. A pair of sandals were formed from some of the wall's material, and he slipped them onto his feet. His concentration would be under enough stress without having to worry about that too.

_**Fair enough. Now, are we gonna get this started or what?**_

Alexander said nothing more, and simply clapped his hands once more. This time he transmuted the wall, but the sparks traveled from there to certain sections of the set of bars in front of him. When the sparks dissipated, Alex simply gave the bars a small push, sending the now-disconnected gate toppling to the ground. There was a lot of clanging that came from the impact, but no guards came rushing in a few moments after, so Alex figured that they were alright.

Alex started running down the hall, passing some of the occupied cells as he moved toward the door. Many of the prisoners looked at him with astonishment as he ran by, staring through their own bars. Some began to shake their cell walls and called out to him, demanding that he help them out of the prison as well.

The Interference stopped at the hall's door and looked back, wondering if he should help them out as well. _**Why not?**_ Joumae suggested. **_Some of them might not have committed what you might call a crime, especially in a regime like this. And the extra chaos might aid the escape._**

Alexander nodded and clapped his hands one more time. When he touched the wall, the green sparks traveled all over the hall, transforming the cell bars of each and every cell in just the slightest way. After a few seconds, the prisoners pushed their cells open and started running out, cheering and rioting. Many of them thanked Alex on their way out, though a few stared at his relatively short ears as they passed.

The boy would've felt proud if something hadn't interrupted the moment. A female, automated voice spoke from overhead, calmly saying, _"Alert: Prisoner escape in progress."_

The panic amongst the fellow prisoners went into overdrive, though Alex simply grimaced in response. "Great," he muttered. "Here come the cavalry."

Alexander ran out into the main hall and looked around. The path split up into two ways, each of which going toward a thick steel door. Both doors had been forced open by the rush of prisoners, but the right path was obviously a dead end. Alexander went through the left door.

The path then turned to the left, and down the hall – at a three-way junction – there was a gathering of many prisoners. It seemed that they'd encountered a patrol of three Krimzon Guards. Alexander ducked back behind the corner and watched carefully.

The KG at the front of the patrol glared at the group of prisoners menacingly. "How the hell did you guys get out?" he growled. "C'mon, back into your cells!"

At this, one of the prisoners panicked out of his mind and broke free of the group, dashing down the right path. All of the guards immediately turned and aimed their rifles at the prisoner. "Die, outlaw!" one of them shouted, and all three of the guards fired. Red blasts of energy were shot out of the barrel of the rifle, which struck the runaway with enough force to throw him about a foot into the air. The prisoner fell to the ground with a hoarse cry, and ceased to move. After a moment, the prisoner's body dissolved into violet energy which disappeared into the air.

Alexander gasped at this sight. The guards had killed that guy!

But Joumae wasn't so fazed by the prisoner's death, instead concerning himself with another detail. _**Hmm... Seems that people in this world simply dissolve into energy – Eco, perhaps – upon their deaths. Their clothes probably get caught up in the conversion too. Heh, certainly takes care of the corpse 'n' blood problem.**_

Alex didn't give this too much thought. He'd seen enough for now. He held out a hand toward the guards from his hiding spot and muttered, "_Thundaga_."

Suddenly, a large bolt of electricity struck the center Krimzon Guard and created a shockwave that zapped the other two guards as well. All three of them collapsed to the ground, completely knocked out. The prisoners remained still for a moment, but then started running around all over the place in another panic, eventually splitting up between the two forward paths.

Alexander ran toward the junction and looked down at the guards. _**Nice shot,**_ Joumae remarked, **_but let's try to avoid summoning the Lockshield itself. We want to keep as much of the element of surprise as possible._**

Alex nodded, but then saw a group of prisoners running past him from the left. One of them looked back at him and shouted, "Another dead end! That's the armory!"

The young man looked to the left. That way led to the armory, which meant that the Krimzon Guards' weapons would be stored there. Which meant that the KG would head this way first to arm themselves. Basically, it meant that Alex had to get moving in the other direction as quickly as possible.

Alex picked up the pace again. The path went through another large steel door, which opened up into another hallway. He ran to the next junction in the hall and looked around. Every path led to more splits in his possible routes. He was now in a labyrinthine section of the Fortress. There wouldn't be any one clear path to this. Beyond this, there were many doors lining the halls, which opened up many more possibilities.

As he was standing there simply looking around, many shots rang out through the halls, echoing as they made their way to Alex's ears. It seemed that the prisoners had broken up into too many small groups, and they were all being confronted – and killed – by the incoming KG.

The shots ceased firing, and a tense silence settled into the area. Deep in his heart, Alex knew that he was the only escapee left alive now. The guards were at their last resort: out to kill.

Alex looked around frantically, and finally saw one patrol of two guards emerge at the junction on his left. "Let's keep looking," one of the guards said. "There might be–"

"There's one!" his comrade shouted, cutting him off as he aimed his rifle at Alex. The boy let out a cry and ran, escaping around the corner as the guard let a shot off.

The noise had created attention; Alex could hear the heavy footsteps of more armored guards heading his way from almost all directions. Alexander ran as fast as he could, though he felt the first pangs of fatigue hitting his legs. Without his magicked garments, his health wasn't the only thing to worry about. Eventually, all the running would wear him out.

Which was why he had to find the exit, fast.

He tried running faster, but his Quick Run wouldn't kick in. It also seemed to have depended on wearing the magical garments. But then he brought himself to a halt as a large number of KG appeared at the other end of the hall he was currently in. Far too many for him to take out quickly. He tried doubling back, but the patrol from before was closing in.

Alex growled and strengthened his resolve. He dodged to the side as the two guards started firing at him. There was some time between each shot, and the red energy that they shot wasn't blindingly fast like his world's projectile weapons. Finally, he managed to get close enough to strike the guard...

Suddenly, his body was wracked in pain as the second guard shot a short arc of blue energy at him. Alexander's body convulsed as his body tried to deal with the electricity attacking his body, and his mind knew naught much else but pain.

At last, the shocking stopped, and Alex fell to his knees. The rest of the guards caught up with him behind him, and Alex knew with grim clarity that he'd been caught. There was no real way out of this. He just simply couldn't take them all out fast enough.

_**Hell, you can't take them out at all,**_ Joumae pointed out. **_That Thundaga earlier didn't kill those three guards; it just stunned them. Understandable, since you never really needed an intent to kill before, but..._**

"What's going on here!?" a gruff voice shouted out, breaking Alex's concentration on his internal companion. The boy looked up, his body still shaking from the shocking, to see Erol walking toward them.

All of the guards seemed to salute at once. "All of the prisoners in the low-security cell block attempted an escape, Commander," one of them reported. "This is the last one of them."

Erol crossed his arms and glared down at Alexander. "Hmm... The freak from the day before. Interesting..."

"What do we do with him, sir?" another guard asked from the back of the group. His voice wasn't any more distinguishable from the first because of the voice filter.

"Well," Erol muttered, looking down at the weakened boy at his feet, "it seems we can't underestimate him again. However..." He reached down and grabbed one of Alex's short ears, and used it to painfully bring Alex up to his feet. Erol grinned sadistically at Alex's pain and finally let go, and the boy was grabbed by two nearby guards to keep him still.

Erol motioned for the guards to follow, and said, "The rest of you are dismissed. Back to your patrols."

The commander started walking back in the direction Alex had came from, and the guards accompanying him dragged Alex along by his arms. They walked all the way back to the second junction, but then walked toward the armory.

Alex weakly looked around as they entered the weapons storage room. It was filled to the brim with the standard rifles of the Krimzon Guards, but there were also some weapons he'd never seen before. There were grenades, launchers, turrets, and many things that were just plain unrecognizable.

But Erol led them to the back of the large storage room, and took what looked like two silver bracelets off hooks on the wall. The commander grinned as he held them up for Alex to see. On one side of each, there seemed to be a large crystal embedded in the thick bracelets, which was currently a dull gray color.

The guards suddenly moved Alex's arms forward, and Erol quickly snapped the thick bracelets onto Alex's wrists. The bracelets clamped shut tightly, and Alex was finally let go. Alex looked down at his wrists in confusion, and looked up at Erol.

The leader of the guards was holding what looked like a remote control with his grin still plastered to his face. With great aplomb, Erol pressed a large blue button on the remote.

Pain suddenly shot into Alex's body again, and Alex let out a scream as he fell to the ground, clutching at his wrists. It felt as if four tiny blades had stabbed into both wrists! And the fact was... Alex was right.

Erol let out a cruel laugh at Alex's pain. "These are called Shock-cuffs, outlaw. And you're about to see why." With another chuckle, he pressed the green button on the remote.

The crystals in the cuffs turned a bright blue color. The pain in Alex's body became a hundredfold as incredible amounts of electricity arced through his body, sending him into a large seizure. Erol kept the button held down for an excruciating three seconds, and then let go. The electricity stopped, and Alex slumped to the ground in complete unconsciousness.

The guards picked Alex's limp body back up, and Erol placed the remote back on the wall. "From here on out," he told the guards, "each guard is going to have that frequency at quick access. Those Shock-cuffs will be his chains to this place." He paused, and then shot a glare at the guards. "Throw him in a high-security cell!"

The guards left quickly, not wanting to suffer Erol's wrath for not having left sooner. Erol chuckled and then started walking out of the armory. "That boy is fascinating..." he muttered to himself. "You don't find many people who can unhinge a cell wall in a matter of seconds. He might become useful, once he's broken."

* * *

**Disclaimer: Alexander, Joumae, the Lockshield, the overall concept of The Interference, and related concepts and characters are the intellectual property of Newbie-Spud. _Kingdom Hearts_, _Fullmetal Alchemist_, and _Chrono Trigger_ and their characters and concepts belong to Square-Enix and its business partners. _Jak and Daxter_ and related concepts and characters are the property of Naughty Dog, Inc.**


	3. Prison Life

Chapter 2  
Prison Life

_High-Security Prisoner #0074 – 02D 21h 57m_

Slowly, light started to come through. Alexander blinked once, and then shut his eyes and groaned. His vision was blurry for the moment, so all he could see was bright light. With his sense of sight disabled for the moment, his other senses started to kick in. Specifically, his sense of touch.

Alex winced, and flexed his hands a little bit. The movement of muscle only brought him more pain, and he let out a little shout. The Shock-cuffs that were stabbing into his wrists made movement painful. Now that he could feel it a bit more, Alex could guess that the flesh around the blades were a little tender from the shocking – only slightly more so than the rest of his body.

_**Rise and shine, buddy.**_

Alex opened his eyes slightly and rolled them. This was not the time to rise and shine. He was almost completely physically incapable of doing that.

_**Ah, c'mon. It's not like you were brought to the brink of death or anything. **_Joumae paused a little, and then said, **_If you must know, you've been out for about a day since you were last shocked. It's about... say, nine or ten in the evening by now._**

Alexander nodded, and thought about getting up to look around. Joumae caught the thought and quickly stated, _**Oh, no you don't. You need those wounds in your wrists to heal first. ...Those Shock-cuffs are clever; they stabbed in positions where the muscle would be able to heal around it. But it'll take a while. So I suggest using your hands as little as possible, or else it'll take longer and with more pain.**_

The boy winced, but then looked around at his surroundings with his head. All there was to see was a small stone room with a thick metal door to one side. He was currently settled down on a stone cot sticking out of the wall. He sighed and looked back up at the ceiling, and at the single covered lamp that supplied the light in the room.

But then, all of a sudden, the light went out. There had been no flickering or anything – the light had simply been turned off. _**Hmm, must be lights-out at ten around here.**_

Alexander became determined to move now, and he started with his legs. He could feel that they were a bit sore, but that was alright. But his torso and arms had to follow, and pain shooting through his hands and wrists accompanied the movement as the blades of the Shock-cuffs dug slightly further into his flesh.

_**Gah, thanks for ignoring my advice. I appreciate it. ...Hey, don't give me that! I kinda hafta care about your well-being, y'know. If you die, I die too! And there's plenty of opportunities for you to get yourself killed in this place, believe me.**_

At last, Alexander was sitting upright on the cot. He groaned as he got to his feet, which immediately sent sensations of cold and unevenness to his brain. But these were consciously ignored, and Alex walked over to the door of his cell. There was a tiny barred window in the higher part of the door, and Alex looked through it.

Beyond his cell door, there was a large dark room. Along the sides were more cells just like his own, and he could see that each cell had a keypad mechanism on the walls in front of them. There was a large steel double-door on the right side of the room.

And in the center of the room was a platform... in the middle of a deep pit. There was a thin bridge with no handlebars heading to the platform, but the platform itself contained what looked like a torture chair of some sort with a gigantic conic machine dangling above it, which pointed sickly-looking tools at the chair.

Alex recognized this place. This was the section of the prison that was in the first scene of the game! He immediately reasoned that this must be a higher-security prison, and that the one he was in had to be really low security. Apparently, he'd been seen as enough of a threat that...

Suddenly, the large door to the right slowly began to slide open, grabbing Alexander's attention. As soon as the door was open, he watched as Erol stepped in through to the large chamber. Right behind him were two Krimzon Guards, carrying a long-eared, unrecognizable person between them. And right behind them was a large, heavy-armored man with a thick mustache, a goatee, and a metal-plated cap enveloping his entire cranium and covering his right eye. There was also a sword at his belt, which his hand seemed to stray to from time to time.

_**Ah, Baron Praxis in person, huh?**_

The five people quickly crossed the bridge over to the morbid platform, and the two KGs strapped the stranger to the chair with metal binds around the wrists and ankles. The man remained unconscious. Erol and the Baron stood to the side, and one of the guards walked down a short flight of stairs nearby to a little side platform that had a control interface.

The guard pressed a series of buttons. An automated female voice calmly stated, _"Commencing Dark Eco injection cycle." _All of a sudden, violet electric energy shot out of the instruments hanging above the chair and into the stranger. The man was immediately brought to consciousness, beginning to scream in agony and thrash against his bonds to no avail. All of the others remained silent as this treatment wore on for a couple of minutes.

Alex couldn't tear his eyes off it. As horrible as it was, it was so frightening that he couldn't summon the willpower to look away. Finally, the man's screams were layered on by a sickening gurgling sound, and the cries soon ceased altogether. Only the sound of the man's thrashing body remained.

"Cut it off," Praxis growled.

The guard at the controls pressed another button. The violet energy disappeared, and the man's body finally fell limp. _"Dark Eco injection cycle canceled. Bio readings indicate subject termination."_

Erol sighed. "Another one... Alright, just dump him out somewhere." As the Krimzon Guards began to remove the dead man from the chair, Erol looked up at the Baron and said, "So far, the Dark Warrior Program doesn't have a whole lot of success, sir."

Praxis scowled. "Hmph. Ask me if I'm surprised." He paused as the Krimzon Guards took the man away, and then said, "But we still have one subject left for today."

Erol's dismay vanished. "Ah, yes," he agreed. "I've been looking forward to this."

As the Krimzon Guards carried out the dead man through the door leading out of the chamber, another pair of guards walked in carrying another unconscious prisoner.

It was Jak!

Alexander's breath caught in his throat, and he suddenly began to feel disoriented. Watching a man die and seeing the protagonist get dragged to torture was beginning to be too much for his weakened mind and body. Slowly, he managed to turn away and start walking back to his cot.

But he blacked out before he got there.

_**Sissy.**_

* * *

_08D 12h 01m_

Life in solitary confinement was rough, to put it nicely. Every day was spent doing hardly anything but sitting around, slowly going insane. At the proper times, a Krimzon Guard would open the door and bring in a small tray of... _stuff_ that was supposed to be consumed, along with some water. But then the doors would close again, and it was back to the silence. Fortunately, after some searching, he'd found a hidden bathroom behind a secret section of the cell wall.

Alex had tried escaping during one of those mealtimes by rushing the guard. But he hadn't made it four feet beyond the door before someone sent out the signal to activate the Shock-cuffs. They denied him lunch and dinner that day, but Alex had been unconscious for most of it anyway.

Eating meals was difficult in the first place, on account that his hands wouldn't work too well. They hurt when he tried to move his hands, which was more often than he should've. But they slowly began to heal over the course of the week.

Most of the time he spent in that silence was passed by talking with Joumae. Usually it was just arguments and teasing, but sometimes they had interesting discussions. Today turned out to be one of those lucky days.

_**As soon as you get your hands back, we can start to make this place a little more comfortable for us. There's probably many, many cubic yards of simple earthen material all around us that you can transmute. At the very least, we could use a mattress!**_

Alex rolled over onto his side and muttered, "Not that it's easy to sleep anyway." The Baron went through several subjects for his Dark Warrior Program every night, and Jak was always on the roster. Everyone else just got horribly mutated, only to die the next night – if they didn't die the first time.

_**Well, I suppose it shows that you're already clinically insane. Or, at the very least, desensitized beyond belief. You're taking all this horrible stuff too well.**_

Alex mentally scoffed. The first two or three nights had been hell for him. He couldn't stand any of it. It was only after being in the same place for a whole week that he'd learned to try getting used to it. After all, at this rate, he would be spending another year, eleven months, and three weeks in the same spot.

The intruding sound of moving machinery broke into his thoughts, and Alex sat up from his cot to see his cell door opening up. And the sound was more intense than usual, so it almost seemed like all the other cells were opening too! This was strange, simply because it definitely wasn't mealtime yet. It was probably getting close, but...

Alexander stopped his thoughts short and focused on the Krimzon Guard that entered his cell. Gesturing with his rifle, the guard said, "On your feet, convict. Come with me."

Confused, Alex got up from the bed carefully – with little use of his arms – and followed the guard out of the cell. Looking around, he noticed some other people being similarly led out of the neighboring cells. He didn't recognize any of them.

Just before they were led out the door, Alex noticed that one cell had actually been left closed, and in there a green-haired individual could be seen watching their departure.

* * *

They were led by the guards into a wide, well-lit room with many long tables in it. The guards stopped in the center of the room and turned around to face the prisoners, who all stopped in place. Many of the prisoners - about twenty in all - began to form a line stretching across the room, and Alexander awkwardly filled in once he realized what was going on.

Alex looked around at the room. There was only one other exit to the side, and a couple more Krimzon Guards were stationed there. In the back, there seemed to be a... row of windows, with people standing on the other side of them. As one could imagine, this remedied his confusion no end.

"Alright," one of the guards growled through his helmet, "any newbies here?"

Alexander would've raised his hand if it weren't for the Shock-cuffs, so he simply stepped forward. He looked around, and a couple of other people in the line followed his example and stepped out as well. He looked up and down the line to view the rest of the people. To judge by appearance and height, he was the youngest one in the group.

The guard who asked nodded and gestured over to the left side of the far wall. "Line up there." Under fear of more torture, the prisoners - including Alexander - rushed over to the far side. Alex ended up first in line. As soon as they were done, the rest of the prisoners filed into the single file line behind them.

Alex found himself standing at the first window, and he was given a plate. With that small gesture, he instantly realized what was happening.

_**I'll be damned,**_ Joumae remarked in his mind. _**It's a cafeteria! Ha!**_

Alexander moved down the line, and the people at the windows there placed food on his plate that was, at first glance, marginally better than the _stuff_ that he'd been fed over the rest of the week. As soon as he'd moved down the line, he found a seat at a table on the far side of the room and spent a few moments watching the other people.

It was a rather sad sight. A great number of them were completely expressionless, following through their actions like mindless automatons. Even when they sat down and began to eat, they did so without hardly even looking at their food, and taking the exact same motions with each bite. And most of the rest, including all of his fellow newcomers to the high-security division, were looking scared and uncomfortable in everything they did.

_**Of course, you completely calmed down when you realized this was a cafeteria, didn't you? You have just enough experience in a similar place to follow along without worrying.**_

Alex broke away from his gaze on the long-eared prisoners and tried his best to ignore the stares at his relatively short ones. He then informed Joumae that schools and prisons were two very different things.

_**Hey, they're both institutions.**_

Alex sighed and finally looked down at his plate. There was some raw broccoli, a rather sloppy serving of mashed potatoes, and something that looked like a half-cooked steak. He'd also received a hefty glass of water with his meal. _**Oh well, at least you recognize it.**_

Alex took a bite of each. It tasted just like it looked; it was only marginally better than his regular meals. The difference was the taste versus bland.

He downed some of the water, and then decided to sit around for a while. There was no one else at his table, and he could guess why as he listened around at the few conversations. He was a natural eavesdropper, and he had to admit that school had given him some experience in this. Thoughts of home crept into his mind, but he shoved them away so that he wouldn't break down.

The talk was mostly about him, strangely enough. Mainly because of his ears, but there was also mention of the cuffs stabbing into his wrists. And the fact that he had _two_ of them.

_**Hmm, so they're not unheard of...**_ Joumae reasoned for him, _**but apparently they don't see why you'd need two of them. Rightly so, I guess, 'cause one would be enough on a normal guy.**_

Alexander pondered this. Why would Erol give a prisoner two Shock-cuffs for the first time in the prison's recent history?

_**I'll betcha anything a camera noticed all of the cells falling over. You should've taken that into account in your escape too, y'know. But possibly Erol suspects that you have special abilities, and gave ya the extra special treatment.**_

Alex clenched a hand into a fist, and immediately winced in pain. He would eventually try to use alchemy to get those cuffs off. But alchemy without a circle wouldn't be readily feasible unless he had perfect control of his hands, so he'd have to wait.

Suddenly, a voice called out, "Hey, short-ears!"

The boy looked over to the source of the voice: a middle-aged man sitting at the table on the opposite corner of the room with a bunch of other people. The man was gesturing for Alex to join him. Feeling suddenly awkward, Alex slowly grabbed his plate and weaved through the tables to go over there.

When he arrived, the man moved aside to allow him a seat, which Alex took. All of the other people at the table was looking intently at him, so Alex said, "Uh... so, what's up?"

A tall, lean man at the table grinned at him. "Just wanna get to know ya, kid. Start talkin'."

Alexander was confused for a moment, but he finally sighed and said, "Well, my name's Alexander. Alex for short." The others nodded but remained silent, so Alex rather awkwardly continued. "Er... I'm in here because... well, I tried to stop a, uh, friend of mine from getting arrested. Then I, well... led a prison break of an entire low-security cell block."

This surprised the others to varying degrees. A big, burly man with short, spiky hair at the other end of the table let out a low whistle. "Wow. So _that's_ why they gotcha on two leashes. An entire block?"

Alex nodded. The same man nodded back and said, "Well, I'm Azelas. I broke out of low-sec by myself, and ended up takin' out a couple of guards on my way before they finally caught me."

A shorter man with a crew cut and a wide face smirked at him and said, "My name's Jinx. I was a demo man for some... well, _influential_ people, but our friend in high places brought us in the instant my crew came to town. Our reputation had preceded us."

Alex held a straight face, but he did recognize this guy. He was in the main canon of the _Jak and Daxter_ series, particularly in _Jak 3_.

Jinx scowled and looked around at the rest of the people. "See that guy over there?" he asked, pointing at a man sitting at a table behind Alex. The boy looked, and saw one of the guys that seemed lifeless and automatic. "He's the last guy who was on my team that's still livin'. Well, partially. He's movin', but not up top if you know what I mean."

Alexander gulped. Solitary confinement did nasty things to people.

The man who invited him over tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. Alex took in his appearance - a man of average build with brown eyes and blond hair of moderate length. He also had two silver earrings piercing his left pointed ear. "Balke. I... well, I kinda screwed up the delivery of an Eco shipment. Badly. So the Baron threw me in here."

Joumae expressed a small question at this, and Alex explained that the people of Haven City used generic Eco for power, rather than generating electricity. And during the events of the game, Eco was in a shortage, which was bad because they had to power the shield wall that kept monsters out of the city. So losing a lot of Eco was most likely worthy of being thrown into high-security prison so that you wouldn't screw up again.

The last man at the table was the tall, lean man. His eyes were different colors - one blue, one brown. He had short brown hair and a small goatee on his chin. "I'm Seth. I was once a member of the Underground - you know, the resistance movement. I got lucky; I was one of the first to get stuck here." He paused to deliberately leave Alex confused for a moment, and then added, "I hear these days the Baron doesn't even bother with throwing Underground agents in the slammer anymore."

Before Alex could elaborate, he felt something collide against his left side. He felt glass shatter on the impact, and suddenly he felt cold and in pain.

Someone had just thrown his glass of water at him.

Immediately, everyone's attention was on Alex. The boy looked down at his side, and saw that his tunic and a part of his pants was completely wet. But worse yet, some of the glass had stabbed into his tunic. He quickly pulled the two shards of glass that were embedded there. One of them came out with little pain; it had only gone as far as the threads. But the second left behind a fair amount of pain, and the feeling of an open wound. No flowing blood, but that wasn't allowed in a game universe.

Azelas and the others stood up and looked in the direction the projectile was thrown from. Alex looked over at him, and realized that Azelas also had a Shock-cuff on his left wrist. It had been obscured before because he'd been sitting on the other side of Balke.

Alex looked as well. An older man was standing up from the table to the side of him. At that table, the other newbies he'd stood in line with were holding back grins. The upright man had long brown hair and a full beard that was strangely tinged with green, and there was a crazy grin on his face.

Seth groaned and advanced on the man. "Dammit, Zach," he spat, "can't you stop harassing people for just one second!?"

The man called Zach glared back. "You seen this kid?" he shouted back, pointing at Alexander. "Them ears, it ain't natural! He doesn't even belong in this world, see?!" Desperately, he looked back to the other newbies and said, "Ain't I right, fellas?"

The young men at the table nodded awkwardly at first, but with steadily increasing vigor. Balke grimaced and whispered to Alex, "Looks like he's tried to gain some supporters. Zach's gone crazy lately with the higher security; he wants to kill anything that's out of place."

"And look!!" Zach screamed, pushing past Seth and grabbing one of Alex's wrists, causing Alex pain as the old man held it up. "He has not one, but **two** Shockers!! They want him to die, so why not just _do_ it now?!"

Azelas quickly intervened, pulling Zach away from Alexander and arguing, "He's only a kid, Zach. Cut him some slack."

But the old man wouldn't have any of it. "Kill!" he insisted. "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Alexander was horrified as the younger prisoners in the room began to chant, "Kill! Kill!" along with him. Just about everyone got up and pushed the tables and benches to the sides of the room. The Krimzon Guards in the room, bored for the past half hour, were now watching with eager intrigue. Everyone was forced out of their seats, and a ring of spectators was formed.

Alex just stood there, clutching his side as Zach and the three newbies stood on the other side of this makeshift arena that had been formed. Azelas, Jinx, Seth, and Balke were standing next to him. Azelas scowled and looked down at Alex. "They want to fight you to the death, kid. Don't worry, we'll take care of them for you."

The four men took places in front of Alex, who just watched for a few seconds. Then he said, "So... I'd have to kill them if I fight?"

"Don't _worry_ about it," Jinx insisted as he got into a makeshift fighting stance. "No need to get your hands dirty, kid."

Alex shook his head, and removed his hand from his side. "No, no, I can... I can do this on my own. I want to end this myself."

Everyone looked at him as if he was stupid. "Are you crazy!?" Balke demanded in a hushed tone. "Can't you see that it's four on one here? You'd be dead in no time!"

But Azelas placed a large hand on his shoulder. "Hold it," he said. The group fell silent, and Azelas stared intensely at Alex for a few moments. Alex felt somewhat uncomfortable, but his resolve remained.

Finally, Azelas started walking toward the sidelines. "If things start getting messy, we're gonna come out and help you."

Seth gaped at Azelas for a moment, but then shut his mouth and joined him. Jinx shrugged and quickly followed suit. Balke looked back at Zach, and then said, "Good luck, kid."

Alex was left alone to face the group, while Joumae remarked, _**Okay... if you say so. But I wouldn't suggest throwing any punches. Your arms still need to heal, and they've already been under enough unusual stress for now.**_

As Alex stood up straight, he informed Joumae that he'd already taken that into account. _**Oh, so you were planning to take care of it that way? ...Well, just don't summon the Lockshield. The less we reveal in this fight, the better.**_

The boy closed his eyes for a moment, and took in a deep breath. He hoped he didn't need to kill someone today, but he'd destroyed someone once before. Someone very close to him. And he'd done it without an immediate qualm. Besides, this was self-preservation; no one else would let him out of this alive until they were dead.

Zach put on another crazy grin, and the whole group of four slowly advanced on Alexander. They took a few slow steps forward, and then suddenly rushed Alexander all at once.

Alex opened his eyes suddenly, held out a hand toward the attackers, and shouted, "_Firaga_!" A huge ring of flames suddenly encircled him, and the three newbies cried out as they found themselves in the middle of it. The flames burned them for a few seconds, and then dissipated. The three men, their clothes and skin scorched by the intense fire, collapsed right in front of Alexander.

Zach (and everyone else, for that matter) was wide-eyed. The chants of "Kill! Kill!" absolutely ceased, and a tangible silence filled the room. Then Zach began to tremble, and shakily took a few steps backward. "Y-You..."

Alexander started walking forward. Zach cried out in fear and moved back even further. The crowd on his side of the room shuffled out of the way as Zach found himself cornered against the wall. "P-Please... don't...!"

But Alex simply held out a hand to him and muttered, "_Blizzaga_." A large blast of ice crystals rammed into the old man's abdomen and froze there, pinning him to the wall and knocking him out for a second.

At that moment, some shouting came from the side entrance. "What's going on _now_!?" a gruff voice shouted from outside the crowd. People started getting pushed out of the way as someone apparently began to shove his way into the fighting area.

Alexander turned around to see a tall man shove through the crowd. He had brown hair in dreadlocks, and there were dark green tattoos all over his face not unlike Erol's. The man wore a lighter and darker color armor, and his face seemed to be permanently set in a scowl.

Alex's hand simply dropped. What the hell was _Torn_, of all people, doing here!?

Torn didn't look any less surprised. "What the hell...!?" he muttered, staring wide-eyed at the man held up by the huge block of ice. Slowly he walked toward it, and then suddenly noticed Alexander in just the right spot. "Huh? What the... Did _you_ do this!?" he demanded, still flabbergasted by the phenomenon. "How...!?"

Alex thought for a moment, but then just shrugged. "Magic, to be honest. And he was threatening to kill me."

Torn was about to respond, but the spell chose that moment to wear off. The ice melted in almost an instant, drenching Zach's lower body, and he fell down into a large puddle of water. Torn sighed and looked down at him, then at the scorched newbies on the ground behind them. "Damn. Zach again, huh...?"

He looked down at Alexander. "I guess the description in the report was accurate. A freak." Torn then walked into the center of the room and spoke much louder, saying, "Listen up! I do _not_ want to hear about any more of these death matches!! I don't like disposing bodies, so don't make me!" He then looked back to one of the entrances and barked, "Guards!"

The few guards there pushed their way to the inside of the group. "Er, yes Commander?" one of them asked meekly.

Torn folded his arms and scowled at them. "I was lucky I heard the chanting. It's a **shame** that I didn't get called in as soon as it started to happen."

The guards flinched. The one who spoke up said, after a moment, "...Sewer patrol?"

"Damn right, sewers," Torn growled. "You'll get your assignments next week."

At that moment, Zach quickly got up and lunged at Torn, grabbing the sharp, curved knife from the sheath strapped to Torn's back. The old man then swung around...

...but Torn managed to grab his hand just as it was about to drive the blade into Alex's chest. Torn then pushed Zach's hand back so that the old man was holding the blade against the side of his own neck. "Nice try, wise-ass," Torn muttered.

Zach snarled and struggled against Torn's grip. "Let go of me, ya bastard."

Torn smirked. "Only if you want me to." With that, he stopped giving resistance. The position of the blade being where it was, and the force Zach was pushing with being what it was, Torn effectively allowed the man to slice his own neck.

The Krimzon Guard Commander smoothly took the knife from the dying man's hand and placed it into his sheath. Zach dropped down to the ground and ceased to move. Torn looked over to the guards and ordered, "Take this trash out of here." Two of the guards picked up Zach and carried him out of the room.

Torn then surveyed the room once more. The three burnt prisoners were finally starting to come back around. "Alright, everyone," he said to the whole group of prisoners, "back to your cells in ten minutes. Clean this place up!"

With a strange efficiency, the tables and benches were soon back in their place, and the groups resumed to their usual places. Back at Alex's table, his new acquaintances were full of questions. He did his best to convince them that it really was magic, and it finally struck home when they could come up with no other plausible explanation.

"Does that explain your ears, buddy?" Azelas remarked.

"Huh?" Alex mumbled. He thought about how he should respond, but then said, "Well, not really... but it is a part of it."

"Alright!" Torn barked. "Back to your cells!"

The prisoners all got up and walked out the way they came in. Balke waved back at him as he went on ahead, shouting, "See ya next week!"

Trailing behind, as Alex passed Torn by the entrance, the KG Commander remarked, "Don't think your tricks went unnoticed." Alex gave the character a glance, but didn't say anything. He lightly held his side, waiting for his solitude so that he could cast Curaga on his wound.

_**For once, you follow my advice. I applaud you.**_

* * *

**Disclaimer: Alexander, Joumae, the Lockshield, the overall concept of The Interference, and related concepts and characters are the intellectual property of Newbie-Spud. _Kingdom Hearts_, _Fullmetal Alchemist_, and _Chrono Trigger_ and their characters and concepts belong to Square-Enix and its business partners. _Jak and Daxter_ and related concepts and characters are the property of Naughty Dog, Inc.**


	4. What You Do Best

Chapter 3  
What You Do Best

_16D 09h 26m_

_**Rise and shine!!**_

"Gah..." Alex groaned as he got up from his bed, wincing from the pain of forced wakefulness. Joumae had taken to waking him up as such over the last few days, and it tormented Alexander to no end. He had no doubt that his torment was the purpose, but there was really nothing he could do.

Now that he knew he was awake, Alex laid back down in his cot and stared up at the ceiling. Yesterday had been another cafeteria day – it was apparent they were held once a week. He'd been able to spend more time with Azelas, Balke, Seth, and Jinx. Frankly, they were the only ones who would bother going near him; everyone else made sure to keep their distance.

He'd been assaulted with more questions, as could be expected. He'd managed to avoid telling them that he was from a different world entirely, though it would probably come up next time. The link between his abilities and his unusual ears couldn't be avoided for too much longer.

Alex sighed and got up once again, and then – after another moment of contemplation – stood up and started doing some stretches. It had been Azelas' suggestion that he should start exercising regularly, since he was going to be spending a fair amount of time in prison. Joumae had supported this idea whole-heartedly, noting that he hadn't really needed to keep in shape with his magical garments, but becoming more fit would help his overall strength even if he got his garments again.

His regime wasn't too complex right now, in order to give his hands time to complete healing. However, as he stretched his arms and flexed his hands, he felt no pain coming from his wrists. He even tried punching the air experimentally, and a few more times with greater force. No pain whatsoever.

_**Excellent. You have your hands back,**_ Joumae declared. **_You should be able to use alchemy again._**

"Finally," Alexander growled. He clapped his hands, creating a nice sharp soundwave from the impact. He then placed his hands on both of the Shock-cuffs. Green sparks covered both of the devices...

But then pain wracked Alex's body once more, and he could see nothing but bright golden light. A black door-like structure appeared in his view, and it started to get larger.

_**Pull out!!**_ Joumae screamed. Alexander felt both his hands suddenly move of their own accord off the Shock-cuffs. The pain and visions ceased, and Alex was shaken by what had transpired. Joumae wasn't too happy either. _**Son of a... You were about to end up at the Gate!**_

Alex looked down at the cuffs. They hadn't changed in the slightest. "What do you mean...?"

_**I mean,**_ Joumae replied pointedly, **_that you were about to attempt the equivalent of human transmutation, and pay a similar price. ...I suspected this, but it was our last shot of escaping. Those Shock-cuffs are powered by Eco. Eco is quite literally the essence of life in this world. To attempt to transmute Eco is to attempt the transmutation of a life. Including a heart._**

Alexander fell back onto his cot, wide-eyed. Their last means of escaping was gone. They were truly trapped here. Now there was no way out. Anger suddenly filled him up, and he slammed a fist into his stone cot. Already he'd spent more time in this world than in any other adventure. And now he would be spending the rest of the two years in the same damn situation.

* * *

_17D 10h 00m_

A Krimzon Guard walked up to the door of High-Sec Prisoner #74 and punched in a few buttons in the keypad next to it. He was glad that this prisoner was on the first floor of cells; there were many cells embedded into the walls, set in layers upon layers. He thought about this for a moment while the door slowly moved open, and then walked inside.

He blinked behind his armor's mask. There was now a mattress and a pillow on the cot, on which the short-eared prisoner was laying. It also seemed like... some of the stone in the walls of the cell had been simply cut out. "Wha...?"

The prisoner grinned at his reaction. "Just thought I'd make my stay more comfortable, now that I have my hands back."

The guard shook himself out of his confusion. Better not to dwell on such a weird thing. With people like Baron Praxis running the show, the habit of simply not asking was widely accepted. Glaring at the prisoner, he said, "Get up and follow me. The Commanders want to see you."

"The Commanders?" the prisoner echoed, raising an eyebrow. He seemed to think about it for a while, but he then shrugged and got up from the bed. "Alright. Lead the way."

* * *

Alexander followed the guard through the fortress into a large conference room of some sort. Seated at the long, central table were seven armored men; three on each side and one at the far end. All of the men shared the same facial tattoos, though the design varied from one man to another. The color and style of armor also varied.

After a quick glance, Alex noted with disdain that Erol was in attendance. On top of that, Torn was seated prominently at the far end. Everyone else was a stranger, though. All he could guess from there, of course, was that these were all of the Commanders of the Krimzon Guard.

One of them seated nearer to Alex, a young-looking man with dark hair, stood up and looked over to him. "Prisoner number 74 of the high-security division. State your name for the record."

This didn't really tell Alex anything about why he was here yet, but he shrugged and simply said, "Alexander Karsath."

The Commander nodded and sat back down. Alex looked around in confusion, wondering what was happening, and finally found a camera situated in the corner immediately to his left. Apparently, this was standard procedure they were going through. The real purpose would come in time.

Finally, Torn stood up and glared at Alex. "So, Alex, is it? Well, kid, ever since you've arrived, you've shown that there's more to you than in most other prisoners here at the Fortress."

Erol nodded with a grim look. "Yes... the ears first of all. Then there's your accomplishment of breaking everyone out of an entire low-sec cell block... and then incapacitating four men without laying a finger on them..."

Torn rolled his eyes and shot a glare at Erol. "Yes, you've pointed those things out many, many times now. _Please_ shut up, Erol."

The antagonist scowled but averted his gaze; an unwilling retreat from the spotlight. Alex, in spite of all the trouble he'd gone through since arriving in this world, found this sight to be rather heartwarming.

_**So... Torn is Erol's **_**superior**_**? Man, how much cooler does it get than that!?**_ Joumae agreed.

"Fact is," Torn continued, "we could use someone like you. You obviously have some power that would help us a lot. If you'd be willing to cooperate, we'd like you to aid us in some tasks."

Erol chuckled evilly. "And if you wouldn't be willing, that can be fixed."

"_Erol_..." Torn growled, but the inferior Commander simply feigned innocence.

Alexander was surprised. They wanted to recruit him for missions? That sounded okay... It would allow him to get out of the cell for a while and stretch. _**It'll also allow you to familiarize yourself with the city and the KG's procedures, on the off chance that you might escape,**_ Joumae suggested. **_I say go for it._**

"I guess... I don't see why not," Alex replied at last. "Not really much in it for me, but..."

"Of course there's nothing for you," Erol cut in, leaning forward in his seat with a sadistic grin. "You're still a prisoner of the Baron, and you'll remain that way. This is merely our way of helping you repay your debt to _our_ society."

"_Goddammit_, Erol!!" Torn shouted, slamming a fist onto the table. "For the last damn time, shut the **hell** up!"

The other Commanders seemed to shift away from the two Commanders as their gazes locked in twin burning glares. But Erol finally backed down once more, and appeared resolved to remain silent from this point on.

"Grr..." Torn growled again, but finally recomposed himself and looked back at Alex. "Anyway, we have a task for you today, if you're ready."

Another Commander, a tall man with shockingly white, spiky hair and blue tattoos stood up, and Torn sat back down. "The sewers have been a long-established smuggling route for the local crime scene here in Haven City. There have been many problems with Metal Head infestations as well. But we plan to fix that."

Yet another Commander picked up a piece of paper and passed it along the desk until it reached Alex's side. Alex picked up the paper and looked at it, and found it to be a sort of blueprint sketch for some type of rectangular turret with a single, long gun barrel sticking out..

"By installing these turrets," the first Commander stated, "we hope to correct both problems at once. These cannons will shoot down anything that moves, human or Metal Head. That's fine by us; no one but the guards who piss us off should be down there in that hole anyway."

At this remark, all of the men at the table shared a chuckle, including Torn and Erol. The extra Krimzon Guards in the room didn't make a sound, but you could see them squirm a little if you looked closely.

After the short burst of mirth, Torn stood up again. "This is where you come in. The amount of Metal Heads down there has almost become too much to handle, but we also have another challenge. A group of the engineers who designed these turrets will be accompanying you and the cargo. They're the only ones who can install these things, and they need to be kept alive. That will be your objective; to protect the engineers until they install all of the turrets, and get them back out of there. You got that?"

Alexander frowned. It was an escort mission. On just the gaming side of things, he hated those kinds of missions. Those were always a challenge, no matter how skilled you were. And now he had to do that kind of thing in real life!

But he sighed and said, "Yeah, I got it. When do we leave?"

Torn smirked. "Well, since you seem so eager... right _now_."

* * *

The meeting had ended abruptly, and he was escorted through the Fortress to the outside. They passed a fairly large control room of sorts that Alex recognized from the game. There was a large tank humming in the middle of the room, and Alex watched it warily as they moved to the door.

Finally, the door opened, allowing Alexander a view outside the Fortress into Haven City. It wasn't all that great. The Fortress' main entrance was in the southwest corner of the Slums, the worst district of Haven City that was situated in the northeast part of the city.

It didn't exactly smell all that great either, but it was fresh air and – all things considered – better than the prison. He looked around, seeing the decrepit residential buildings, the uneven and poor streets, and the people walking around in it. The people only gave him and the guards a quick, nervous glance, though some of them continued to stare for a few seconds before looking away nervously. Alex self-consciously put a hand to one of his ears, knowing that they were the reason why they stared.

A large vehicle was floating near the Fortress' door. It was a large, dark red cruiser of sorts – large in comparison to most of the vehicles Alex could see flying around – with a large cage in the back. One of the guards walked over to the side of the vehicle and pressed a button, and the front section of the cage lowered.

Knowing its function, Alex walked over to the vehicle and took a seat within the cage. The front section closed up again, and the Krimzon Guards boarded the vehicle. After a few seconds, they took off.

The first thing that happened was that the ship sharply hovered up many feet from the ground, until it was completely level with the other vehicles – Zoomers – that were flying around as well.

_**Uh... what the heck was that for?**_

Alex sighed, and mentally told Joumae that the Zoomers in Haven City were restricted to two hover zones: low and high. The act of switching hover zones had always seemed violent in the game, but he hadn't realized it was that bad. In any case, you could use the high zone to avoid pedestrians, and the low zones to avoid traffic if you were a good enough driver.

_**I see,**_ Joumae replied. **_And... is this really the fastest these things can go!?_**

The vehicles around them, including the carrier they were in, were going at a slow and steady pace, perhaps a third of the top speed that the fastest of them could pull off. Alex shrugged, and assumed that there was probably a speed limit. But it was hardly enforced at all, if the gameplay was evidence to anything. The only time driving fast did you any harm was if you crashed into a Krimzon Guard vehicle.

_**They probably don't mind civilian crashes,**_ Joumae supposed. **_A few less people to worry about in a cramped city like this is not exactly a bad thing. And... Hey, is that a Zoomer just sitting there?_**

Alexander looked down through the side bars of his cage, and noticed an empty Zoomer hovering low as Joumae described; it was without a pilot and completely still. He hypothesized that Zoomers weren't all that hard to manufacture, and the transportation system was probably public and free of charge. Every Zoomer in the air was probably one that the civilians had found parked somewhere.

_**Well, I guess we don't have to worry about getting charged with grand theft auto, then,**_ Joumae joked. **_No one actually owns a Zoomer. The only specialized ones belong to the Krimzon Guard._**

Alex nodded as the carrier turned to the right and passed into a different section of the city. The Slums suddenly ended, and they were now surrounded by dark metal. The ground was metal, the generic structures around them were metal, and there was a walkway for people to walk above the high hover zone. It was the same type of area that he, Jak, and Daxter had landed in when they had appeared here.

_**Ah, the Industrial Sector, huh? Judging by your memories, we must be near the sewer entrance, huh?**_

Alexander nodded yet again. In the remaining time that they had, he watched the people and vehicles as they passed by, making note of a few things about the latter. The public Zoomers came in four main varieties, and each variety had about three or four color variants.

There was a single-seat light Zoomer, shaped and handled like a motorbike, that was easily the fastest of all the types. Then there was a light double-seated Zoomer that looked like two light single Zoomers given wheel controls and fins on the side, and then stuck together. Then there was a heavy double-seated Zoomer that actually resembled something like a car, as one single vehicle that looked almost rectangular in design. And lastly, there was the remarkably heavy single-seat Zoomer that was somewhat triangular if you looked down on it, with three large compartment spaces in the back.

There were a few other vehicles as well. A few Krimzon Guards could be seen riding their custom light single Zoomers, which had some armor reinforcement and a turret on the end. Then there were the bulky, round, two-seated Hellcat cruisers, which looked like an armored disc at first glance. They also had a turret on the bottom of the vehicle, but there also seemed to be a larger, manipulable turret nest in the raised back portion.

And finally, to round out the list of vehicles, there was the prisoner carrier that Alex was seated in right now. ...Which suddenly **dropped** to the lower hover zone, breaking Alexander's train of thought abruptly.

The cage swung open, and a few guards motioned for Alexander to get out, which he did. They were parked in front of a suddenly steep ramp down into a cut-out part of the ground, which eventually led to a security door. The few guards accompanied Alexander to the door, and they watched as the large knobs in the door ground through their grooves in the door from left to right and right to left, until it finally split apart to reveal an elevator platform.

Alexander shrugged and walked onto the elevator, and suddenly realized that he had done so alone. He looked back just in time to see the door close in front of the chuckling Krimzon Guards, and the elevator slowly lowered. He groaned and hoped that he wouldn't have to do this alone.

The elevator came to a stop in front of another security door, and he watched a large gear slide along the door and spin until it was right in the center, and the door split apart again. A horrible stench came wafting through as the air was released, and Alex groaned as his mind fought against the signals he was getting. This was going to be a _horrible_ job.

Alex stepped off the lift and looked at the welcoming committee. There were three regular looking people standing in the main hallway he was facing, and there were two Krimzon Guards. All five of them were standing next to a large floating platform, which was carrying four gray uninstalled turrets.

Needless to say, the civilians weren't all that pleased. "What the heck...?" one of them remarked. "This is... This is _**it**_!? We ask for a strong escort and they send us a kid on two leashes?!"

"Shaddup!" one of the KG barked, and the civilian fell silent. "Don't mess with this kid; he's got those things for a reason." He then looked at Alexander. "Alright, kid. We're here for backup, but you've got point for this mission. I've seen you fight, so you better live up to what the Commanders think of you. Understand?"

Alex realized that these two guards were the same ones that had witnessed his fight with Zach. After a moment, he sighed and said, "Yeah, alright."

The other KG held his rifle at the ready, and gestured with it toward the three civilians. "Do not let _any_ of these engineers die. They are the only ones who can install it, and it'll take longer if only one or two of them are around to do it."

The engineers glanced amongst themselves, and said, "Um... three people are kinda required to install these things. If one of us dies, one of you guys will have to take his place in helping!"

Alexander groaned. Less engineers meant less backup. So it would be simply best if he kept all of them alive. He'd toyed with the idea of being secure with the knowledge that he only needed at least one, but that was apparently out the window. He held out his hand, and the Heartless Seal Lockshield appeared in an inky black smoke. "Alright, let's get going."

He walked forward and looked ahead. Beyond the current stretch of the sewer pathway was nothing but darkness, but there was a shining floor switch that Alex knew would turn on some lights. So he continued walking, and the guards followed. The engineers followed, but they kept some distance. The hovering platform carrying the turrets followed as well, propelled by an automatic system of some sort.

Alexander looked down at the circular protrusion from the ground at the edge of the light, and stepped on it. Nothing gave way, but a clicking sound accompanied the return of the lights. What they saw was a large, square pool of water in front of them that was remarkably deep. If one looked closely, one could see another pathway at the bottom of the pool. But there was a small section of grating at the nearest right corner leading to another wide hallway, so Alexander walked along that and led the way.

When the entire group had entered the next section of the sewer pathway, one of the engineers pointed forward and said, "There's one of the places!"

Alex looked in the direction he was pointing in. There was a small metal stump-like object embedded in the floor at the far end. It appeared that one of the turrets would be placed in that mount.

But they suddenly heard a growl. Several growling noises, in fact. The engineers froze in their places, their excitement completely forgotten. The guards cocked their rifles and pointed them at the other end of the hallway, where the noises had come from. Suddenly, two dark creatures popped out of the water where the hallway ended and bared their fangs. They were large, beast-like creatures with four legs that had plenty of gray metal covering their dark blue bodies. There was a shining golden gem protruding from each of their skulls.

"Metal Heads!" another engineer screamed, and cowered next to the hovering platform.

"Grunts!" a guard growled, lifting up his rifle and firing a shot. A red blast of energy hit a Metal Head in the face, which enraged the two Metal Head Grunts and sent them into a charge.

Alexander took a deep breath and rushed in toward the two Metal Heads. When he got close, the Grunts got up and started approaching bipedal-style. One of them swiped at Alexander with its metal claws, which glanced off the Lockshield. Alex backpedaled and swung at the second Grunt to knock it back, and then shouted, "_Thundaga_!"

A bolt of lightning zapped the first Grunt, leaving it stunned for a few moments. The other Grunt took some damage but wasn't stunned, so it charged once more with increasing rage. Alex managed to bring the Lockshield up just in time to block the strike. He then pushed the Metal Head's claw aside and slashed it, sending it to the ground. The golden gem in its skull popped out with a _thwock_ sound. Before the first Grunt could recover, Alexander gave it a few quick slashes as well. The second Grunt's gem popped out of its skull, and both Metal Heads faded away in bursts of violet energy.

There was a bit of a silence. Then Alex found himself pushed aside as the engineers came rushing through with the floating platform close behind. Two of them boarded the platform and hefted up one of the turrets, while the third started to fiddle with the mount.

But Alex couldn't really get to see this because his attention was diverted. Behind them, five of a different kind of Metal Head had appeared. These appeared to be strictly four-legged, and had dark red skin. They had much less actual metal on their bodies, and most of it was on their backs and skulls. Overall, they were more lizard-like in appearance.

"Hurry up!" one of the guards called to the engineers as he lifted up his gun.

The other guard took a shot at one of them, but missed. As he reloaded (the guns only fired one high-powered round at a time!) he muttered, "Damn... you ever _seen_ five Swipers at once?"

The first guard took a shot at the same Metal Head Swiper, which was hit dead on. Alexander, deciding he didn't like the numbers he was up against, switched his Lockshield over to the Crimson Catalyst design. He then clapped his hands and placed them on the ground. Green sparks traveled across the floor, and collected in the Swipers' path.

All of a sudden, a row of Stonespikes rapidly rose up from the transmutation reaction, ramming into three of the Swipers. The Metal Heads' gems popped out of their skulls, and those Swipers faded away.

"Ready! Watch out!" one of the engineers called out. Alexander found himself pulled to the side by the guards, and looked back. The turret let out a mechanical whine as it began to move, and it fired two rapid shots at one of the Swipers. Both shots hit their target, destroying the Metal Head instantly. The turret paused for a moment, automatically rotated, and fired at the last one with true aim.

Alexander gulped. He certainly didn't want to be caught unaware of that thing!

One of the Krimzon Guards smirked. "Those are some sweet guns," he said, looking back at the engineers. "Those things aren't going to shoot us, right?"

The turret certainly wasn't moving. Another engineer, the middle in height amongst the three, grinned back at the guard. "Don't worry, this thing's been programmed to only attack Metal Heads for today. But after that, the only thing it won't shoot are people with a KG signal. Just like the Baron ordered."

"Good," the other Krimzon Guard remarked, and then looked back at Alex. "Let's move on, convict."

Alexander took the lead again. The platform abruptly ended in front of a stagnant sewer stream. However, some of the underwater pipework had large, inactive gas vents sticking up out of the water, creating circular platforms that crossed over to the other side of the canal. On the other side was a relatively thin stone ledge in front of some wire mesh that blocked off a darkened passage. There were two such ledges separated by some water, before three more gas vents created a series of platforms leading to another hallway on their current side of the canal.

Alex had no problem leaping from platform to platform. The guards had some trouble with their heavy armor, and the engineers were encumbered by their own fear and lack of practice. Alexander went some distance on ahead, but stopped after he leaped over to the second ledge. He heard a growling noise just before he stopped.

He remembered this particular detail from the game, so he cautiously stepped forward. With frightening speed, a Grunt dashed out from the darkness and crashed into the wire mesh, trying desperately to claw at Alexander. Startled but annoyed, Alex brought up his Lockshield and slammed it against the section of mesh the Metal Head was pushing against. The Metal Head recoiled violently, and the gem immediately popped out of its head before it disappeared.

As soon as they had all crossed over, Alex continued to move on. They were in another hallway structure, but it only went on for a short while before it came to a circular junction and continued on to the right. From there, there was another light switch on the border of an extremely unlit area. But it seemed there were three golden lights moving around in the midst of the darkness.

Alexander switched his Lockshield to the Time Fracture design, and stepped on the switch. A well-lit circular room came into sight between them and the next section of the sewer pathway, and three Metal Head Grunts were waiting for them. Before any of the guards or engineers could react, however, Alexander swung his Lockshield horizontally and shouted, "_Slash_!"

A white blade of energy arced through the air and sliced through the three Grunts with surprising force. The Grunts were knocked onto their backs, and they struggled to get back to their feet. The Krimzon Guards immediately fired their shots, taking out two of the Grunts sequentially. Alexander then rushed over to the third and slashed it with the Time Fracture's blade, finishing it off.

_**Hmph. It's good that you are finishing them off so quickly and without any damage, buddy,**_ Joumae informed Alex. **_Wanna know why? Without your garments, you won't automatically recharge your Kingdom Hearts magic power like you did before. One Cure spell and it's gone for the day. You'll need to rest up before it'll come back in full, and I'm sure they don't sell Ethers in this world._**

Alexander was almost furious, but certainly frightened by the news. It would've been nice to know earlier. Now it was absolute; he needed to get through this with taking little damage, if any at all.

Finally, they moved on. As soon as the next hallway started, the path started to slightly go uphill. It came to another circular junction, then went to the left. Then the uphill hallway ended after a short distance, and they came into a large room. They were on a tall structure overlooking a pool of water several yards below them. There was a series of short bridges extending off the main block and ending at a circular structure that had another turret mount on it.

The engineers rushed over to the mount, and one of the guards was almost bowled over as the hovering carrier went into overdrive to keep up. Alexander and the guards slowly followed along. Alex soon realized why the engineers were so excited; there was only this thin pathway leading up to this turret mount, creating a choke point in case they were rushed.

They all couldn't crowd around the mount with the platform hovering there, so one of the guards and Alexander remained on the second section of the bridge. Alex looked back, and was surprised to see no Metal Heads at all.

Suddenly, sounds came from below them. Everyone froze and looked down from the platform... into the water below. A few moments passed by, with the strange sound repeating itself. It sounded like something was moving through the sewer water...

"I don't like the sound of that..." one of the guards mumbled. He whipped around toward the engineers and shouted, "Step on it!"

"There!" the other guard shouted, and aimed his gun at the water. Alexander saw a strange, orange, lizard-like creature stick its head out of the water for the briefest moment. It bared its many fangs and quickly stuck out its long tongue, which came within an inch of whipping Alex in the face. It then submerged and resumed swimming around. It sounded like there were several of them.

"It's... it's done!" one of the engineers exclaimed nervously. "Though... it wouldn't be able to hit them anyway, if it could target them."

One of the guards groaned. "Gah... What are a bunch of Snaggle Teeth doing down in the sewers, anyway?"

_**Huh? Singular: Snaggle Tooth? Weird name... But, then again, most creatures in this universe are weird as all get-out.**_

Alexander shook himself a little. That attack had come too close, and he had been a little startled by it. Still, he had an idea. "Let me take care of 'em," he said, and concentrated. After a few moments, golden energy rose up from his body, and he shouted, "_Lightning_!"

To everyone else's surprise, a bolt of lightning crashed into view and struck the water below. A charge was subsequently sent through the water to all of the creatures in it. The sound of multiple creatures fading away simultaneously was heard moments after.

The others were speechless. "Well... damn," the second Krimzon Guard muttered, unable to come up with anything other than a vulgarity.

With that trial out of the way, they crossed the bridge back to the main platform, and continued where the main path made another left turn. The lights had seemed to have gone out in this section, but there was a large metal bridge spanning the dark space below.

Alex was hesitant at this part. In the game, this metal bridge fell apart as soon as it was stepped on. But an impatient guard pushed him forward with the rifle and sent him stumbling onto the bridge. His full weight was trusted to it, but it actually didn't fall.

_**Another two years and it'll have rusted enough, huh?**_ Joumae remarked.

The bridge went around a corner to the right and then connected to another section of hallways to the left. Alex felt fortunate that this bridge was still stable, because all of them could see a large number of glowing golden gems waiting in the darkness a few yards below them.

The path came to an immediate junction and went to the right, but they were immediately confronted by two strange green frog-like creatures that started hopping toward them with what appeared to be combative intent. However, the Krimzon Guards both fired one shot each and killed both creatures.

"Geez," one guard said as he lowered his rifle, "it's a whole... um, I want to say 'plethora'. Would that be the right word?"

The other guard shrugged. "I guess so."

"Yeah, there's a whole plethora of things down here," the first one agreed. "Metal Heads, Snaggle Teeth, and even those wimpy little Puffers."

They moved along, and the air was suddenly filled with a silence only filled by the hum of the hovering platform. The group ended up coming to another canal, with more air vents available to cross it. On the other side of that makeshift path was a small stone ledge with a turret mount on it. They crossed over with no trouble at all, and – despite all their wariness – nothing attacked them while they installed the third turret.

They were at the back corner of the canal, so they jumped up to a small stone ledge to the left and then up to where another sewer passage began. Most of the forward path was covered in darkness, but there was a light switch there as well. Alex stepped on it and revealed the hallway ahead, which swerved slightly to the right and then to the left. But the light went out after a moment.

"Damn," one of the guards said. "Well, we can see the other side, so..." But he eventually trailed off as a noise could be faintly heard from behind them. The two guards quickly turned around and looked into the canal. Suddenly, the turret they'd just installed started to open fire as a whole bunch of Metal Head Grunts started climbing out of the previous passage and crawled along the sides of the walls.

"W-Where did those...!?" an engineer mumbled.

"Must've been the ones we passed over!" Alexander quickly answered, trying to think quickly out of this predicament. The turret couldn't handle them all with its slow reload and the wide spread, so...

"Just run!" Alexander shouted, motioning for the others to get going. "Let's get them to a choke point!" The engineers and guards alike were not slow to accepting this idea, and they started running down the hallway.

They soon passed through the unlit portion of the hall and entered the next large room. It was a rectangular, tall room that had another deep pool that the platforms were overlooking. Ahead of the main block were three long metal platforms jutting out of the wall, and a larger fourth one in the corner with a turret mount on it. The engineers were quick to make the necessary jumps, with the carrier and the guards close behind.

Alexander jumped to the second platform and looked back to watch the Metal Heads' approach. They moved as a close-knit group, so the entire group came at once. There were six of them. There seemed to have been more earlier, but it was likely that the turret had done its job to some degree.

Still, six on one – as it seemed to be with the Krimzon Guards having little time for preparation – wasn't a set of odds Alexander liked. So he held up the Time Fracture and concentrated for a moment. When the Grunts made their first leap, Alexander intoned, "_Chronos Break_!"

And, in an instant, everything came to a standstill. Color was lost from everything except for Alexander's body (though his clothes remained colorless). The airborne Metal Heads were frozen in midair, and every action had halted. Alexander smirked and brandished the Time Fracture.

The others only saw one simple thing. One moment the Metal Heads were rushing them, and the next they all simply died, with Alexander holding his shield on the other side of them. The guards and engineers were left simply speechless again, though the engineers were quick to get back to work on the last turret placement.

"Finally!" one of the engineers cried out as the last turret became installed. Their job was finished.

The first Krimzon Guard nodded and turned to the side. A crackling sound came from his helmet, and he said, "Sewer patrol reporting in. Guns are installed, and we are now escorting the prisoner back to the security barrier."

_"Roger that,"_ a sound crackled out from both guards' communications systems somewhere in their armor.

They climbed up to another sewer passage up the ledge to their left. The path came to a right turn and finally to an overhanging metal platform. This platform was looking over the first junction of the sewers, with the pool underneath.

Alexander, the guards, and the engineers rode the floating platform back down to the entrance hallway, and they all walked back to the sewer's security door. The door opened up, and the guards motioned for Alexander to get on the elevator. It seemed that they had some last-minute things to do before they went back into the city. Alex sighed and stepped onto the elevator lift, which started to rise as the thick security door closed up behind him. He was exhausted; that Chronos ability had taken a fair amount of wind out of him.

At least he had the satisfaction of knowing that, after a likely debriefing with the KG Commanders, he'd be able to spend the rest of the day resting in his high-security cell.

_**See how good you've got it?**_ Joumae teased at this thought. But Alex didn't really feel like he was in the mood to argue, so he just kept his mind devoid of responses. Joumae didn't enjoy this at all. **_Good grief... Even in your own head, you're a spoilsport._**

* * *

**Disclaimer: Alexander, Joumae, the Lockshield, the overall concept of The Interference, and related concepts and characters are the intellectual property of Newbie-Spud. _Kingdom Hearts_, _Fullmetal Alchemist_, and _Chrono Trigger_ and their characters and concepts belong to Square-Enix and its business partners. _Jak and Daxter_ and related concepts and characters are the property of Naughty Dog, Inc.**


	5. The Best of the Worst

Chapter 4  
The Best of the Worst

_High-Security Prisoner #0074 – 3M 15D 12h 27m_

A little more than three months had gone by since he'd first arrived in the world of Haven. Alexander had been keeping track by transmuting tally marks into the stone walls of his high-security prison cell. Not that those were the only things he was transmuting.

If anything, he was using the abundance of stone around him to practice his transmutation and make sure the skills didn't fall into the obscurity of forgetfulness. He was allowed to do this in return for the favor he'd done the Krimzon Guards once before, though he'd had little else to do since. And once Alex told them that it was impossible for him to transmute the Shock-cuffs, the Krimzon Guards ignored it altogether.

By this point, Alexander had completely gotten used to the cuffs on his wrists. They no longer caused any pain, and the extra weight actually helped by serving as resistance when he exercised daily. And his efforts were really beginning to show. Once in a while he transmuted a mirror, and he noticed that his build was starting to become more muscular. He also noticed that his hair was getting out of control, so once in a while he would transmute a pair of scissors and cut it short.

But while most of his time was spent in the cell, there were the occasional breaks. Once in a while they got to take individual showers. There was also the weekly luncheon that all the prisoners shared. His friends Azelas and the others had long since been told about their existence within a video game. It had taken them a while to swallow it, but by the next luncheon they had worked it out.

What had followed was a barrage of questions about what he knew about the worlds around them, what was going to happen in this game, and where Alex had come from. Alex convinced them to let the future remain a mystery, but he gladly told them about his previous exploits and the places he'd been to, including the real world.

But that had been a while ago. Lately the direction of conversation had turned around, with Alexander asking questions about his new friends, and what specifics they could tell him about. And when he didn't feel like it a certain week, they would talk about whatever was on someone's mind. Normal conversations.

As the five of them settled into their seats at a table, Balke slowly cut into the thing resembling beef on his plate with his plastic utensils. "The Baron just keeps on grinding through those guys for those dark experiments, doesn't he?"

_Relatively_ normal conversations.

Seth sighed. "You don't need to tell me. It's sick having to sleep through that kind of stuff." He paused as he took a sip of water. "Who is he using for those experiments, anyway?"

Alex swallowed some food before remarking, "Definitely not his own guards."

"No," Azelas argued, "I saw some guys with tattoos getting dragged onto that platform. Betcha anything it's some guys who defected or screwed up really badly."

"Seein' a lot more prisoners than any o' those, though," Jinx added. "Especially that one guy who keeps on livin' through them. The one with the greenish hair."

Alexander grimaced. "Yeah, Jak. Not a scratch on him yet."

_**Yet,**_ Joumae repeated. **_What a wonderful part of the English language._**

Balke had been about to take a bite, but he stopped as a thought occurred to him. "Prisoners... You don't think they'll get _us_ under–?"

"I **really** doubt that," Alex cut in. "Injecting Dark Eco into a person shouldn't have any results besides death. So there are only two groups of people the Baron would want to put into that chair. People it _might_ actually work on, and people that really piss him off. As sadistic as he and Erol are, I'm pretty sure they'd get tired of throwing away horribly mutated bodies if they got no results."

Azelas chuckled. "I don't know about Erol, but I'll agree that the Baron doesn't like repetition like that." He finished his glass of water and stood up. "Well, what do you say we have another go at it?"

Alexander thought about it, and stood up as well. "Sure, I don't see why not." Everyone else in the room, most of which had been reduced to mindless automatons, recognized this signal and immediately got to work on moving the tables out to the edges of the room, to form another arena. Alex and Azelas took opposite sides of this makeshift arena and assumed unarmed fighting stances.

Two weeks previously, Joumae had suggested the idea of practicing hand-to-hand combat during his stay in prison. Alex had then suggested it out loud to his friends, and Azelas had agreed to be his mentor. It was a way to get up and moving each week, and it didn't hurt for Alexander to have that basic skill. It would help his entire fighting style to learn how to fight unarmed. And Azelas seemed to know quite a bit about it, so he was a great teacher for him.

Azelas's stance was more defensive, with his body oriented along a diagonal with his balance on his left foot behind him. He held one arm in front of his torso, and the other at his side. Alexander was a bit smaller and weaker than Azelas, so his stance was similar but more oriented for evasion. His feet were a little further apart, with the balance on his forward right foot.

Alex was, of course, nervous. He was no stranger to fighting – or pain, for that matter – but rarely had he ever counted on the strength of his own fists. Kicks he was more comfortable with, but his punches were lacking in strength. And this was their second session. The first session had consisted of him trying to attack Azelas, only for the bigger man to quickly exploit the weaknesses in his attacks and stance to send him crashing. It had been a disillusioning experience.

"We're going to focus on defense this time," Azelas told him. "I'm going to attack you just like you did to me last week. Just focus on blocking my attacks."

With that, Azelas charged at Alexander. He threw a punch in Alexander's direction, which Alex guarded against with his right arm. Unfortunately, he'd underestimated the force of the punch, and he recoiled a little bit. This sent him off balance, and he staggered backward in an attempt to regain his balance. It was at this point that Azelas stepped back and kicked Alexander in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

Alexander groaned, but worked hard to get back up. He was given a lift up from Azelas, which had become common for these sessions. As they got back into their stances, Azelas said, "If your opponent is stronger than you, than you need to figure out how to deal with the force coming your way."

He then attacked again. When a punch came Alex's way, he tried to dodge it. But he was sent down a couple more times when he couldn't dodge the follow-up punch quite quickly enough. Through practice, his punch dodging had become a bit better.

After dodging a few punches, Alex felt that Azelas was getting too close to him, so he tried backing up to clear some space. But as soon as he quickened his backward pace, Azelas rushed in and kicked him back to the ground.

As Azelas sighed and helped Alexander back up again, a voice started calling into the circle. "Hey! You two!" It was the voice of a Krimzon Guard pushing his way into the circle.

Jinx stepped forward. "Hey, man, we've already cleared this with Torn. Just ask 'im, it's fine!"

The Krimzon Guard shook his head. "I know that. I need those two," he replied, gesturing with his rifle toward Azelas and Alexander. "A special summons from the Commanders. C'mon, let's go!"

Alexander raised an eyebrow, but Azelas nodded and started walking toward the guard. Alex quickly followed suit, catching his breath. As they left the cafeteria, the last sounds they heard of it was the other prisoners setting the tables back to their original places.

* * *

It had been a while, but Alexander immediately recognized the old conference room. He and Azelas stood near the entrance, staring down most of the Krimzon Guard Commanders. Although it seemed that a few of them were missing. Alex sighed and said, "What, another errand?"

Torn smirked. "Yeah, we need both of you to help us out today."

Alexander was confused ever so slightly. "Both of us?" he asked, looking up at his taller friend.

"Azelas has that one Shock-cuff for a reason, boy," Erol snapped in response. "And he's taken tasks like these before, long before you arrived."

"With that out of the way," Torn cut in, "let's get right to it. We've recently constructed a drilling platform some distance outside the city for drilling Eco. It's a large facility with plenty of security, so we also use it as a waypoint for Eco tankers coming in from the Wasteland."

"There's a tanker coming in this afternoon," one of the other unknown Commanders stated. "But we suspect that there's a large force of Metal Heads following the tanker to the Drill Platform, with the intention of taking the Eco and sabotaging our operation there at the same time. We're doing our best to accumulate as large a force there as possible, but we'll need as much skill as we can get there as quickly as we can. We can't get so many there in so little time."

Azelas took this all in, nodding the whole way. "You're sure of this attack?"

"Completely," Torn replied. "Fact is, we got a report from the pilot about the pursuit, but we think the Metal Heads assume we haven't noticed. So we're going to ambush _them_, and continue normally up until then."

Alexander sighed. This certainly didn't sound easy at all. His reserves of magic were limited, so he'd need to be clever about what techniques to use in taking care of the threat. "Alright. Anything else?"

There was a bit of a pause, but then Torn grimaced. "Yeah. One more thing. There's a... very important person that's going to be there at the Drill Platform as an Acting Commander. She needs to be protected at all costs."

Both Alex's and Azelas's eyebrows shot up. "**She?**" they echoed simultaneously. Azelas quickly followed up incredulously with: "You're not saying that–"

"Yeah," Torn muttered. "Ashelin Praxis is coming along for this operation."

Alexander was wide-eyed and slack-jawed for just a moment, and then regained control of his face. That was another integral character that was all too recognizable from the games. Ashelin, the Baron's rebellious daughter. Alex was definitely going to have to make sure she didn't die here.

Torn looked back up at them again. "Alright, you know what your objectives are. Off with you, then."

Azelas and Alexander were escorted back out of the conference room. As they were taken through the halls, Alex glanced up at his friend and said, "You've been on these things before?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Azelas remarked somewhat coldly. "The answer is obvious, of course." He paused for a moment, and then said, "They've sent me on a couple of missions. How many have you done?"

Alex looked down at the ground. "This is my second one."

"Hmph. Surprised you haven't done more, really," Azelas replied. "With your talents and all."

They went through another door, and Alex was surprised to find themselves back in the prison section. "Huh? Aren't we going to...?"

"We're going through the Warp Gate," Azelas stated quickly. The guards took them to a small platform in the middle of the room to the left, above which a small, hollow, circular device was suspended. As they approached the hoop-like object, it started to glow a bright blue, and the space within it began to warp and waver.

_**Warp Gates?**_ Joumae repeated, slightly confused. **_Two-way teleporters? Why haven't we encountered these before?_**

Alex mentally explained that Warp Gates had been far more common in the time period of the first Jak and Daxter game. And they apparently couldn't be made any larger, so only one person could go through at a time. There were better ways of transporting large numbers of people. As he thought about it, Alex realized that it was probably only the Baron's places that had any Warp Gates at all, in all Haven City.

And in the middle of his reverie, one of the guards impatiently shoved him forward, sending him stumbling into the Warp Gate. A bright flash occurred, and Alexander disappeared.

* * *

A long distance away from Haven City, another bright flash occurred, and the teenager appeared through a similar Warp Gate. Still in mid-stumble, he subsequently crashed into the metal beneath him. He wanted time to deal with the pain that followed, but the knowledge that more people were on the way prompted him to scramble forward, just in time to let Azelas land right on the spot he'd been in a few seconds ago.

Alexander finally took the time to look up at his surroundings. All around him was a giant structure made out of blue metal. It was truly expansive, and the sound of machinery was all too present in this place. He took a look behind him, and he saw that he was on a platform with a bunch of control panels a distance behind the Warp Gate. Only he and Azelas had come through the Warp Gate, but there were already a sizable number of Krimzon Guards there already.

As Alexander stood up, he felt a little light-headed. At first this came as a strange thing to him, but then he realized exactly what this place was. He tentatively walked over to the far side of the platform – which was without rails – and looked down. And froze.

"We're probably a few miles up," Azelas remarked, noticing Alex's shock.

The Drill Platform was situated around the top of an absolutely _gigantic_ drill, which was rotating quickly and grinding into the earth below them. Of course, Alexander had already been aware of this, but the game, as usual, had failed to capture the sheer scale of it. But a third-person perspective often did that anyway.

"What's going on here?" a sharp female voice demanded. Alexander looked back up and searched for the source of the voice. He quickly found it.

It was a young woman with dark red hair in dreadlocks. She had a round, almost cute face with the usual Krimzon Guard tattoos on it. She wore a dark blue, long-sleeved vest that was clearly too small for her torso, as well as a red top beneath it that clung tightly to her chest. There were some pieces of armor on her arms and legs, and a pistol holstered at her hip. She also wore dark blue pants with a belt that had a red ruby at the center and some strategic holes along the sides of her legs. And she wore black boots that started just below her knee. It really was a cunning outfit, all things considered.

Ashelin stared at Alexander for a moment, and then looked over to Azelas. "Hold it, we're getting _prisoner_ reinforcements now? What does my father think he's doing, sending a kid?!"

Azelas smirked. "This _kid_ is actually very special, ma'am. He's capable of a lot more than he looks. Don't worry, he'll be a big help in this operation."

The Baron's daughter scrutinized Alexander for another moment, making the boy feel a bit more nervous and intimidated. "Who are you, then?"

Alex swallowed first, and then replied, "Ale–" He cleared his throat, and tried again. "Alexander."

Ashelin perked up an eyebrow, and then looked over to the opposite side of the platform, near the controls. "Erol! I want to speak with you!"

Alexander glanced in that direction, and found the Commander there indeed. As Ashelin walked over to him, Azelas looked to Alex and said, "Nice first impression."

"Oh, gimme a break!" Alexander shot back with a scowl.

_**Can you blame him? Damn, she's hot!**_ Joumae exclaimed, making Alex groan and roll his eyes.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the platform, out of Alexander's earshot, Erol looked over to Ashelin and said, "Yes, Ashelin?"

Ashelin kept her scowl. She didn't like having to deal with Erol in the slightest, but he was the only other Commander present at the moment. Jabbing her thumb back at the prisoners, she said, "What can you tell me about the kid with the short ears over there? Why is he here?"

Erol glanced over Ashelin's shoulder and grinned. "Ah, him! Well, he's proven to be a remarkable asset before, so it seemed appropriate."

The young woman still wasn't convinced. "What exactly can he do, Erol?"

Erol's grin didn't fade. "Very well, because it's you," he replied smugly. "That boy is capable of destructive power unlike anything anyone's ever seen in this world. He used that power to lead an escape of an entire low security prison block, knocking out three guards in the process. Believe me, we'd be in big trouble if he didn't have those two Shock-cuffs on."

Ashelin looked back at Alexander, who seemed to be chatting with Azelas. Then, after a moment, she said, "What'd he do to get into low-sec in the first place?"

"Ah, um..." Erol mumbled, his mirth gone in his hesitation.

She only gave him a single second. Ashelin quickly whipped around and snapped, "You mean you just picked him up off the street because he has short ears!?"

"No! No, of course not!" Erol sputtered. "He, um... That is, he... er..." He glanced from side to side for some support, but the other KG were cleverly avoiding the two of them. When Ashelin's glare didn't subside, giving him no chance for recovery, he muttered, "Well... yes, but..."

Ashelin let a silence fall between them, and then said, "I'll ordering an investigation of his case as soon as we get back. Something tells me he doesn't deserve to be here." She then turned on her heel and walked away confidently.

As soon as she was gone, Erol scowled and cursed under his breath. Alexander was too important a tool to just give up!

* * *

About a half hour passed on the Drill Platform with nothing to do, except watch more reinforcements arrive. And then things began to happen. Ashelin and Erol called all of the guards present to gather on the platform.

Then, everyone watched as a gigantic aircraft started to fly in from the distance to the right. It was a wide ship with a flat top and a box-like structure below it. After a few moments, Alexander realized that he recognized this ship from a certain mission in the game. From that realization, he could recognize that the tanker had many turret ports along the top and underside of the gigantic single wing structure.

The aircraft slowed down and hovered above them, and slowly lowered down, rotating so that the ship's rear came to a rest right on the edge of the platform. A gigantic door opened up in the lower part of the ship, which created a ramp onto the platform. Just beyond it was a gigantic hull full of black barrels.

The sound of many, many guns being cocked was heard as they saw the barrels. A few seconds passed in silence. Azelas, who'd been given a spare KG rifle, lowered his gun and muttered, "Where's the guests?"

Erol grimaced. "I don't know, but let's get this Eco out of here before they might arrive. Go get the Eco, men!"

Many of the guards rushed into the ship and each grabbed a barrel. Slowly, the many stashes of Eco came out of the ship and became placed on the corner of the platform. Alexander watched this all with a fair amount of confusion. If Metal Heads had been in pursuit, where were they now? The ship was stopped, so this would be a perfect time!

"Can't some Metal Heads camouflage themselves?" Alex wondered aloud.

All at once, the motion on the platform paused. The few KG that were still on the ramp let go of their barrels and cocked their rifles toward the front of the ship. Slowly, they advanced into the dark hull. Everyone was tense as they quickly pressed forward. But about a minute later, the guards returned and reported that every inch of that hull was empty space.

Erol shrugged. "Alright, then." He looked over to some guards at the control panels and said, "Fire up that Gate. We'll send these to the guards at the Power Station and get this Eco into the system."

Alexander shook his head. "I don't know about that," he stated aloud. "We _know_ the Metal Heads pursued the ship, so..."

"Shut up, convict," Erol snapped. "You're not in any position to be giving advice on an operation like this. Let's get this Eco going and leave."

A couple of guards started moving one of the barrels of Eco toward the Warp Gate. Alexander stared at the barrel for a moment...

...and then panicked. "_Wait!!_" he exclaimed, dashing toward the guards. Just when the guards were about to send the barrel through the Warp Gate, Alexander yanked it away from them and chucked it to the side violently. The barrel toppled over, and the top fell off.

Alexander suddenly felt a high-voltage shock go through his body, and he toppled to the ground in a seizure. Erol had pulled out a small radio-like object and sent the signal to activate his Shock-cuffs.

Azelas quickly snatched the radio from Erol's hands, and the shocking stopped. "Stop that, you fool! _Look!_"

Everyone looked at the barrel that had been thrown aside. The top was open, and it was slowly rolling around, revolving in a circle. But that was all that was happening.

Ashelin scowled, with her hand straying toward the gun at her hip. "There's no Eco inside that thing..." Eyes widening, she shouted, "Shut down that Warp Gate!"

The Warp Gate deactivated. The barrel continued to roll around, slowing down ever so slightly. Finally, it had revolved to the point where everyone on the other side of the platform could see the inside of the barrel. It was dark and empty, save for a bright golden orb...

With an overbearing collective hissing sound, all of the other barrels' tops popped open, and a couple of small, scorpion-like Metal Heads with large tails crawled out of each one. They started moving toward the pack of Krimzon Guards, who immediately began to fire.

"Damn!" Ashelin cursed, firing a small burst of red energy from her pistol that took out one of the creatures. "An ambush of Stingers!"

Azelas quickly grabbed Alexander's limp body and pulled him onto the ramp of the ship, out of the line of fire. He shook him violently, muttering, "Come on, we need you now! Wake up!"

Even with all of the Krimzon Guards shooting at the Metal Heads, the targets were simply too small for all of them to be taken out, and the guards soon started to become overwhelmed.

Azelas noticed this, and shouted, "We need some Green over here! Alex is out cold!"

Ashelin glanced over to him, hesitated for a moment, but then backed away from the Metal Heads. She looked all over the platform, and then noticed something in the back corner. There were a couple of red crates with the Krimzon Guards' emblem on them. Ashelin fired at one of the crates, breaking it apart. In the remains was a small black box with green plus signs on each face.

"Jackpot," Ashelin muttered, running over to the Health Pack. She knelt down to pick it up, but then hesitated as she realized that she would be the one getting healed if she touched it. So she sandwiched it between two fragments of the ex-crate and carried it as such to Alexander.

When she got close enough, she let the Health Pack drop onto Alex's body. The Health Pack disappeared on impact, and green energy absorbed itself into his body. Alexander's eyes shot open, and he started coughing a little.

Azelas lifted him up. "C'mon, kid. We need ya here. We're not gonna last long!"

Alexander blinked, his vision only beginning to clear. He managed to look over to the side. The Krimzon Guards were being forced back by the Metal Heads, and some guards faded away as they were stabbed by the large sharp tails of the Stingers.

_**C'mon, fake unconsciousness long enough for Erol to get killed,**_ Joumae suggested in a hushed voice. **_Please?_**

Alexander groaned and stood up with Azelas's support. He surveyed the scene once again, and immediately decided on a course of action. He held out his hand, in which the Time Fracture Lockshield appeared in an inky black smoke. "_Ch_... _Chronos_..." He muttered, doing his best to summon up some strength. After a moment, his eyes widened as he confidently intoned, "_Chronos Break_!"

Time stopped for everyone except himself once again. Alex stumbled a little bit as the magic power left him, but he recomposed himself in the time stop and immediately rushed toward the Metal Heads. He slashed at each and every one of the Stingers that were there, and even managed to save a few guards that would've died in the next second.

To everyone else, there was one moment where all was lost, and the next moment in which the Metal Heads all died at once. Alexander stood on the other side of the swarm of Metal Heads, grinning at them.

But then the weakness caught up with Alexander again, and he blacked out.

* * *

_3M 19D 8h 56m_

Alexander was woken up roughly by a Krimzon Guard, who escorted him outside of the Fortress. He was put into a prisoner carrier, and then taken through the Industrial Sector of Haven City, and then along the makeshift "highway" above the east Bazaar district, until they finally reached the Palace square.

The carrier dropped down in front of the large, wide stairs to the gigantic Palace door. Alexander climbed up the stairs along with the guards. One of the guards presented a violet-colored security pass, and the huge door unlocked and opened up.

The first room of the palace was somewhat bare, with a few control panels, many banners hanging on the walls, and an elevator down the hall to the left. The guards and Alexander stepped onto the elevator. After a few moments, the elevator gave a sudden start and then very quickly began to rise, throwing Alexander off his feet. They kept on going higher and higher up the elevator shaft, until a few seconds later it finally slowed down and came to a stop. Alexander actually managed to have a second of hangtime with his momentum.

A security door opened up for them, and they stepped through to a very large hall. Alexander had thoughts of a metallic and foreboding version of Disney Castle, but quickly stifled them as they were brought to the large metal door on the left leading to the throne room.

The door slowly opened, and Alex was escorted through. He walked along a red carpet leading up to a staircase that was underneath the throne, in which Baron Praxis sat above him. Along the sides of the carpet were all of the Commanders of the Krimzon Guard, including Torn and Erol. Ashelin was standing nearest to the throne as well.

The generic guards that had escorted him in left the room. Alexander was confused, to say the least. "What the heck's going on _now_?"

Ashelin smirked. "I ordered an investigation of your case, Alexander Karsath. Turns out that you were incarcerated without any charges whatsoever before you tried to escape from prison the first time."

Torn nodded. "That, along with the work you've done for us, pretty much makes all of your subsequent charges null and void. Especially with what you did at the Drill Platform."

Alexander was going a little slack-jawed at this point. "I'm... I'm going **free**?!"

Baron Praxis hadn't lost his characteristic edge. "Don't get ahead of yourself, boy. It's not as simple as that." He stood up from his throne and started to walk down to their level. "But I will admit that your actions at the Drill Platform were vital. You protected my daughter and a high-ranking Commander with your abilities, and you prevented a potential sabotage of the shield wall and the city's safety. So believe me when I say that I would be happy to set you free."

Alex scowled. "_But_..." he muttered, indicating that the Baron should continue.

The Baron stopped a small distance away from Alexander. "But, Erol has made an argument against your case, which I'm inclined to agree with. The extent of your powers, along with the suddenness and accuracy with which you can use them, make your freedom a dangerous thing for us to have."

Alexander glanced around at the people present. Erol was grinning, and Ashelin was shooting the Commander a glare. Torn seemed to be in grudging agreement.

"And frankly," the Baron went on, "we don't know too much about you. You're a kid with short ears and strange powers, so it's apparent you're not like us at all. So there are two conditions that you'll have to meet before we'll grant you your freedom."

Erol stepped forward. "One, you must tell us about yourself, where you're from, and where you got your abilities. And two, you must pledge yourself to servitude under Baron Praxis as a part of the Krimzon Guard."

Alex's eyes widened. He needed to become a KG in order to get out of prison!? That... that was bad, right? The Baron and the Krimzon Guard were the enemies after all... And he most certainly didn't want to reveal that he was from another world, which would be the only explanation that would convince them at this point.

"Well," Torn cut in, trying to get the hearing moving, "what do you have to say for yourself?"

Alexander hesitated, biting his lower lip. He then took a step back and mumbled, "Just... let me... think about it for a minute. It's... a kinda hard decision."

He then closed his eyes and sought Joumae's advice. _**Well... you know, the thing you've got to realize is that the Krimzon Guard do protect this city. And there's really nowhere else for you to go. Being a Krimzon Guard means you won't gain their ire, and you'll be able to move around and learn about the city some more in the time remaining. You've still got the better part of two years before the gameplay starts, and you'll be fine as long as you don't do anything that cripples the game's delicate series of events.**_

Alex opened his eyes again and sighed. "Alright." He scanned the room and all of its occupants for a moment, and then looked up at the Baron who was back on his throne. "I'm Alexander Karsath. The fact is that I'm from a completely different world beyond this one." He paused for a moment, and decided not to talk about the video game aspect of his situation. "A world where magic exists, as well as weapons with special properties."

"I've spent some time traveling to several different worlds," he went on. "Just like you have the Metal Heads here, each of the other worlds have some version of their own monsters. And just like you have Eco here, each world has different properties that empower its residents." Alexander summoned the Lockshield in an inky black smoke. "Through this weapon, I've been able to attain some of those abilities and properties. And with these abilities, I've tried to go around to different worlds and help people fight against these monsters. I've been dubbed by a few as the 'Interference,' because my mere presence subtly alters the course of events in some way, and I can do more if I make the effort."

_**Smooth and clean,**_ Joumae remarked as he finished up.

After a few moments, Torn said, "So you came to this world to help us fight the Metal Heads?"

Alex thought about his response for a moment. "Sorta. Thing is, my coming here involved a... small accident, with no way for me to get back out. Things kinda got out of hand from there. I got stuck here."

There were some nods as this information sunk in to all those present. Then Erol spoke up by saying, "I assume this means you'll be joining us willingly, then?"

Alex sighed. There wasn't any other way. He took in a deep breath to compose himself, and then said, "I have a few small conditions, first."

"Go for it," Ashelin replied.

Alexander nodded. "Alright. One, what I've told you just now doesn't leave this room. It's not the kind of information that everyone needs to know."

The Baron shrugged. "It wouldn't be the first thing. What else?"

"Well," Alex continued, "once a week the high-security prisoners have lunch all together. Azelas has promised to tutor me in hand-to-hand combat, since I usually use a weapon. So..."

Torn nodded. "Yeah, you can set time aside to visit during that time. No problem."

Alexander sighed. So far so good. "Okay. ...Just one more thing." He looked around at all of the Commanders, and then grinned sheepishly. "Is it possible for me to avoid having my face tattooed? I just don't think it'd fit me."

To his surprise, a small wave of laughter echoed across the room, with the Baron giving great guffaws in response. "Hahahaaa!" he laughed. "Some _conditions_! Don't worry about it, just as long as you promise to serve me!"

Alexander smirked a little at this, relieved a bit by this response. Now the time had come to take the pledge and become a Krimzon Guard. He took a deep breath, hesitated, and lifted his hands up. "These come off, right?"

Affirmative nodding in response. Alex nodded back, and then said, "Alright, I swear – in front of all you witnesses – that I will serve Baron Praxis, the Krimzon Guard, Haven City, and its citizens to protect them from the Metal Heads, under pain of..." He hesitated for a moment. "...being imprisoned once again. This I swear."

The Baron grinned and stood up from his throne. "And we'll hold you to it! Guards!"

The throne room's door opened back up. The Krimzon Guards that had been waiting outside came back into the room, holding a familiar-looking remote. The guard holding the remote pressed the blue button on it. Alex gasped as the blades that he'd gotten used to stabbing into his flesh retracted, reopening the wounds.

The other guard walked over to him and somehow managed to get the Shock-cuffs to each split apart, and Alexander soon found himself without bonds at all. There were scars where the cuffs had stabbed into him, but they would heal. At this point they'd probably never disappear, but they would heal.

Alexander, overwhelmed with relief, dropped to his knees while holding his wrists. He was free! Out of prison! He wouldn't be stuck for two years!

The Baron chuckled. "Alright, kid. Let's find you some proper clothes and a place to stay. Welcome to the ranks."

Alex looked back up at the Baron... and found himself smiling. "Thanks. I won't let you down."

_**Yet,**_ Joumae reminded him. **_Whatever you do, don't let go of that wonderful word. We won't betray him _yet.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: Alexander, Joumae, the Lockshield, the overall concept of The Interference, and related concepts and characters are the intellectual property of Newbie-Spud. _Kingdom Hearts_, _Fullmetal Alchemist_, and _Chrono Trigger_ and their characters and concepts belong to Square-Enix and its business partners. _Jak and Daxter_ and related concepts and characters are the property of Naughty Dog, Inc.**


	6. Taking Sides

Chapter 5  
Taking Sides

_KG Corporal Alexander Karsath – 7M 26D 11h 50m_

The Fortress prisoners were once again led into the cafeteria for their weekly luncheon. One of the guards leading them in turned toward them and said, "Alright, any newbies?"

He scanned the group, but not a single soul stepped forward. Strangely enough, it seemed that the Baron hadn't decided to permanently incarcerate someone this week. The Krimzon Guard shrugged and said, "Okay, so you all know the drill, then. Line up."

The prisoners all went along the line to get their food, most of them acting automatically as usual. Everyone then took their seats, including Jinx and Azelas at the corner table by themselves. Jinx glanced over to Azelas and said, "You think he's comin' this week?"

Azelas took a bite of his steak. After chewing it for a few moments, he swallowed and said, "He might. Chances are the Baron's worked him hard the last two weeks. It's not like he's going to find someone else like me in the city."

"True that," Jinx admitted. He started to go for his food, but something seemed to bother him. Finally, he looked back up at Azelas and asked, "Why are ya helpin' that kid anyway? Not like it's gotten ya any closer to gettin' outta here by teachin' him to fight. And he seems to be able to hold his own anyway with his _magic_ stuff."

Azelas gestured at Jinx with his fork. "That's just it. Without the magic and abilities, he's got nothing. I really do think he'll need that kind of experience to help him out with whatever he's going up against in the future. Having unarmed techniques helps out with any kind of fighting, even with weapons."

Jinx held up his hands defensively. "Whatever. I'll take your word for it. Not like I know anything about melee. I'm just the baggage boy." He paused for a moment. "But still, trainin' a kid every week?"

"Look, Jinx," Azelas said, holding up his right arm. The Shock-cuff was still there. "You know as well as I do that I'm not getting out of here. The Baron has it in for our people; I've watched plenty of comrades go onto the chair. Training Alexander gives me something to do... and something to give to the outside world."

Jinx shrugged again. "Yeah, well, I'm not on a leash. I'm looking to get outta here." But then he looked past Azelas's shoulder. "I'll be damned. He's actually here."

Azelas looked back to see the young man rush into the cafeteria. He looked a fair bit healthier than the boy that had left this prison four and a half months ago. Alexander was in his standard outfit, which was a black leather jacket with a dark green undershirt beneath it. He wore red shoulder plates with the KG logo on them, and he was wearing blue jeans and black sneakers. His hair was still cut short, and his build had become slightly more muscular with all of the exercise and training he'd been doing.

And he was slightly out of breath. "Sorry I've been gone, guys," he managed to say, walking over to his friends. "The Baron had me hunt Metal Heads a lot the last two weeks, and I had to remind him that these sessions were part of my conditions."

Jinx grinned. "So the Baron's a bastard. What else is new?"

Alex grinned a little, and took a seat next to Azelas. He looked around at the rest of the table, and asked, "Um... where are Seth and Balke?"

Alexander watched the mood at the table quickly go sour. Azelas pointed toward a table on the other side of the room, and Alex looked. "Balke is over there," Azelas said. Alexander had to do some searching, but he finally found a familiar face on the far side of the room. Balke's face was... neutral, and he was simply staring at his plate as he ate.

"Think his mind's been slowly slippin' for the past month," Jinx said with a grimace. "The solitary confinement was startin' to get to him. Couple of weeks ago he just stopped talking to everybody."

Alex stared at his old friend, horrified at what had happened. He'd seen Balke three weeks ago, and he'd been fine. What had happened?

_**Psychology's never an easy subject,**_ Joumae pointed out. **_It might be something that's been building up for a while, and only recently had it started gnawing at him. At this point, we'll never know._**

The young man blinked, and then whipped back around toward Azelas. "And Seth?" he asked.

Azelas averted his eyes. "The Baron just pulled him out of his cell one night, and... put him onto the chair."

Alexander swallowed a lump that threatened to rise in his throat. Seth had been given a Dark Eco treatment?! If the results of any other subject besides Jak were any indication, there was no way Seth would've survived that. "How long ago was this!?" he demanded.

Jinx counted on his fingers for about a second. "Eight days ago."

"Crap," Alex muttered. "Makes sense then. ...About a week ago I heard about an Underground attack on the Fortress. From what I was told, they got pretty close to the high security cell block before they were finally apprehended..."

Azelas scowled. "And so the Baron found an old Underground member to make an example of to them. Damn him!"

"Shame," Jinx mumbled. "Seth wasn't such a bad guy."

Alexander's scowl was nearly chiseled into his face. Two of his best friends gone in three weeks. He'd enjoyed his freedom so far, but he was angry that he still couldn't help his friends out.

Azelas sighed and took a drink from his cup. "...Still want to have a go at it?"

Alexander thought about it for a moment. "I... don't know. After learning that two of my friends are gone?"

"It might help ya deal with the loss," Jinx suggested. "Y'know, show that you're able to fight even with stuff on your mind."

"No, no..." Alexander muttered, standing up from the table. "I did a lot of fighting in order to avoid dealing with loss. That's not the right thing to do. ...Lemme work it out this week, and I'll come back next week and get right to work."

His friends nodded, and Alex started to walk out of the cafeteria. He then stopped as Azelas shouted, "Wait a minute!"

Alex turned to see Azelas quickly walk over to him. "Can I just give you a piece of advice real quick? I've been thinking about it for a couple of weeks; it's something I've noticed about you." The boy shrugged, and Azelas went on. "You've certainly improved over these last few sessions. But your defense is still full of holes. When I come at you, you know that I don't fall into a pattern. So I think you've come to expect change-ups in my attacks and counters. But you still fall for them."

Alexander frowned, and recalled the last session. He couldn't come up with any example to argue against Azelas with.

"So here's what I think," Azelas suggested. "You've got remarkable mental focus, especially in your attacks. But if anything comes at you from outside that focus, it's harder for you to recognize. I think you're seeing the fight with your mind, rather than looking at it. So here's my advice to you:" He paused a moment so that the statement would sink in. "See with your eyes, not your mind."

Alexander considered it. He'd had no reason to argue with Azelas's logic before, and this advice seemed rather sound. He nodded, and said, "Alright, I'll see if that works." He then walked out of the room.

* * *

The Fortress door opened up once again, allowing Alexander access into the southern part of the Slums. He walked down the ramp from the door and entered the streets, where the Zoomers moved sluggishly along over his head. The other civilians walking in the street gave him a wide berth, since the Krimzon Guard emblem was prominent on his shoulders. By now, most people knew about this young, powerful officer of the KG.

Over the last few months, Alex had gotten to know the city rather well. And he had a violet-colored security pass, which was the second-lowest level security pass. This meant that he was free to roam anywhere in the city, including the Palace.

Haven City itself was actually more or less a perfect square, with the wall making the border on four sides. The northeastern section of the city was called the Slums, and for good reason. The very western edge of that section was called the Water Slums, and it consisted of shoddy buildings built up on wooden platforms not-too-solidly suspended above the water.

If you went south from there, you'd find the Industrial Sector, which was the home of nearly all of Haven City's power plants and factories. That sector stretched along the eastern side of the city.

The entire southern third of the city was South Town, or simply the Port. That was where most of the import and export business happened in Haven City, but it was also reputable for being a prime spot for finding shady dealings and shadier characters.

The central and western parts of the city belonged to the Bazaar district, along with the Palace square in the dead center. On the west and east sides of the Palace square were Bazaar blocks, where most of the civilians did their business with each other. On the north and south sides of the western Bazaar block were agricultural blocks, where food and livestock were grown by automated systems.

Then the north and northwestern sections of the city was North Town. North Town was the main high-end residential district, where the slightly richer civilians spent most of their time. Alexander himself had a nice-looking apartment where he had lived for the last few months. There were other fine establishments in North Town, like a few restaurants and pricey stores, but the main attraction in that sector was the Stadium.

The Stadium was the center of entertainment for just about everyone who could afford it. Special Zoomer races were held there year-round, and a semi-annual championship got the entire city riled up. Judging from the posters Alexander had seen on his visits there, Erol always was the winning favorite. And Erol did not seem to disappoint.

_**That might explain why he's a Commander, **_Joumae had once commented. **_He's a hotshot and a suck-up._**

Suddenly, a ringing sound came from his pocket. Alexander raised an eyebrow at it, but fished into his pocket and pulled out a small, black, rectangular box-like device. He then flipped the top of it off, making it look rather like a cell phone. On the top was a screen with a portrait of himself on it, and on the bottom was the KG logo and a small speaker.

Fortunately, the KG security tags also seemed to double as communicators.

"Yeah?" Alex asked, looking down at the device in his hand.

_"Alexander?"_ a scratchy male voice asked. _"This is Erol."_

A groan threatened to rise out of Alex's windpipe. Unfortunately, the KG security tags also seemed to double as communicators.

_"I need you to meet me over at the Race Garage,"_ Erol continued, his voice sounding uncharacteristically urgent. _"Immediately, corporal! Erol out."_

"But why...?" Alex began to ask, but the static sound coming from his communicator cut off, meaning that there would be no more conversation. Not that Alexander had any chance to argue against a Commander because of his rank, but some more information would've been nice.

Alex sighed and looked around. Finally, he spotted an empty light-double Zoomer hovering a foot off the ground a short distance away. Alexander sprinted onto it, settled into the seat, and took the driving controls. He lifted a short lever near the steering wheel, and the Zoomer sharply rose into the high hover zone. He then pressed his foot down on the accelerator and started to weave his way through traffic.

* * *

After some time, Alex finally arrived at the Stadium. His Zoomer hovered above a massively long and wide staircase leading into the basin in which the Stadium was situated. He then descended into the lower hover zone and disembarked.

There weren't too many people around at the time, so it wasn't hard for Alex to move toward the steps leading up to the Stadium itself. There were four parallel staircases, with a pair of fountains in the center. Finally, as Alex reached the top step, he looked to the left and saw a small corridor along the inside of the Stadium wall. There were a couple of small pillars with flashing lights on them to indicate that this was a no-hover zone, and Alex simply walked by them.

He walked along a corridor, and came to a large pair of steel garage doors on the left. As he approached, both doors split along a rising diagonal and quickly opened up, allowing him access.

Alex had never actually been in the Race Garage before, but he recognized it from the game. There were plenty of Zoomer parts and mechanical tools lying around on the floor in the cramped garage. On a large work table nearby was the remains of a beaten up heavy-double Zoomer. On the far side of the room, in the corner nearest to the door, was a tall shelf with several trophies on the top rows. To the left of the shelf was a large, dark green curtain.

The boy looked from side to side, and then said, "Uh... Erol? You here?"

"Huh?" a female voice came from behind the curtain. Alex heard the sounds of some hasty scrambling movements, and then the curtain opened up ever so slightly. A green-haired young woman appeared through the curtain and hastily closed it behind herself. She wore a pair of goggles around her neck, a white tank top, and blue denim pants. She also had a clear plastic visor over her face, which she lifted up as she regarded Alexander. "Who are you?"

Alex was almost shocked. This was Keira! This was the actual Keira, who had come through the Rift Gate with Jak and the others. Of course, this was where she was supposed to be in the game's events, but Alex really hadn't expected to meet one of the protagonists so soon. Finally, though, he caught himself and said, "Uh... I'm Corporal Alexander of the Krimzon Guard."

Keira narrowed her eyes. "Oh... Yeah, I've heard of you," she replied in a short tone. She sighed and lifted her visor off her head, and tossed it over to the table with the beaten-down Zoomer. "What do you want?"

It didn't take much for Alex to sense the negative vibes coming from the woman. Apparently, she had a deep dislike of the KG. "Ah, well..." he mumbled, "Erol had me come here to meet with him for some important thing, but I guess he hasn't shown up yet."

This caught Keira's attention. "Oh, you're friends with Erol?" she asked.

Alex was a little off guard at this point. "Er..."

"Then it's alright," Keira quickly said, a small smile coming to her face. "Sorry for being like that earlier, it's just... y'know."

Alexander did know, but he was immensely confused. He was now on better terms with Keira because he was affiliated with Erol!? Did Keira have any idea what he was like? But Alex tried to rein these thoughts in as he said, "Um... Don't worry about it. I don't exactly share sentiments with the Baron, but... y'know."

"Yeah," Keira said understandingly. It was hard to do anything in Haven City that opposed Baron Praxis. "But at least there's some good people in the Krimzon Guard."

Now Alex's mind was being bent every which way. "Surely you don't mean Erol...?!"

"Hey!" a shout came from outside the garage. Alexander and Keira both looked toward the entrance to see Erol running toward them. He stopped just as he entered the garage, and stared at the scene for a few seconds. Erol then looked at Alexander with a searching look, then at Keira...

And then smiled. He walked over to Alexander and put a hand on his shoulder. "Ah, Keira! I see you've met a good friend of mine. This is Alexander."

_**Oho!**_ Joumae exclaimed, understanding the tactic Erol was employing. Alexander was simply at a loss for words.

Keira gave Erol a warm smile. "Hey, Erol. You doing alright?"

Erol put on a face of mock fatigue. "Oh, I suppose. The Baron works me pretty hard as usual. Not easy, protecting all of these people and setting aside time for you as well." He walked toward Keira, put an arm around her waist, and looked back at Alexander as he stood beside her. "Alex, this is Keira, the best mechanic in Haven City."

Joumae laughed out loud as Alex watched Keira visibly blush ever so slightly. "...Not really. I just... try my best."

"Nonsense!" Erol stated in a tone of shock. "I can say with complete confidence that it was _your_ engineering that won me the championship last month. That Zoomer was a beauty!"

"Maybe..." Keira argued, "but you're the best racer out there anyway. I could only do so much..."

"It's appreciated, dear," Erol said simply. He looked up to the top of the shelf and added, "How do you like the trophies?"

"They're great!" Keira replied enthusiastically, looking up there as well. "Thanks for letting me display them there, even though it wasn't my team that won."

Erol grinned. "Not a problem." He looked back down, and finally looked back at Alexander. "Ah, right! Alex, there's a favor I need to ask of you. Keira, would you wait here while I fill Alex in on the details outside?"

"Sure thing," Keira said. "I'll get a little more work done, then." She then disappeared back behind the curtain.

Alexander followed Erol back out to the front of the Stadium silently, sorting out his confusion. But once they were outside of the two flashing pillars, his confusion had finally been converted into equal parts annoyance and anger. "You _con_," he muttered.

"Now, now, Alexander," Erol chided him playfully. "We're friends, remember?" He let out a sinister chuckle, and then stopped to turn to Alex. "I need you to run an errand for me. I plan on spending most of the afternoon with Keira, but there's an assignment that needs to be carried out."

"Great," Alex growled, the big picture finally coming together for him. "I run your errand while you spend the day flirting. Why don't I like this?"

"Because you're a lower-ranking officer," Erol answered calmly. "Anyway, I'm supposed to command an investigation at the Port. There's a large shipment of general foodstuffs and supplies coming in, ordered by Krew, the owner of the Hip Hog Heaven saloon in South Town."

Alexander nodded. He didn't like the job, but he understood it. "Ah... So the Baron decided to randomly check his stuff, huh?" Though he hadn't met the guy, he knew that Krew was obscenely rich, but certainly not through the shoddy, run-down tavern that he managed.

Being a lower rank meant that more of the guards were comfortable in talking about things around him than around the Commanders. Bribes from Krew were sometimes such a topic under hushed tones.

"Exactly," Erol replied. "Go check the shipments. If there's anything that looks like black market material on that ship, confiscate everything on the boat. That'll send a message." He then turned toward the Race Garage. "I've already told my men to meet you at the south side of the Praxis statue. They'll know where to go from there."

Erol walked away, leaving Alex with a mission to carry out. He scowled at the thought of Keira and Erol flirting some more, and decided to just go ahead with the mission. As he looked for an unclaimed Zoomer, Joumae said, _**Good thing you decided to skip lunch today, huh? That stuff has a way of turning a stomach.**_

"Especially with that character," Alex agreed.

* * *

There was a gigantic stone statue of Baron Praxis in the square just south of the Palace. You could see it from the entrance. A series of fountains were at each corner of the gigantic metal pedestal it was on. Alex looked up at it from the seat of his single-light Zoomer and sighed. He then gripped the handlebars again and flew around the right side of the structure's base.

As promised, there was a group of about six Krimzon Guards milling around at the south side of the statue's base. Alex dropped to the lower hover zone and jumped off his Zoomer. As he approached the soldiers, they saluted him. After all, he was a corporal while they were simply all at the rank of private.

But one thing about the group confused Alexander. There were a number of vehicles there as well, including five KG single-seat Zoomers and a prisoner carrier. And inside the prisoner transport was someone he recognized rather well.

Alex dropped his saluting hand and stared at the man in the transport. "Jinx!?"

Jinx looked up and grinned at Alex. "Well, hey there! Fancy seeing you here at a time like this!"

One of the guards realized that he was confused, and he explained, "We're not sure why he's here for this inspection, sir. An order from the Commanders, I think. He's a criminal, so maybe he'll know what to look for."

Jinx chuckled and leaned back in the transport. Alexander raised an eyebrow, but then looked to the guards. "Well, I'm ready whenever you guys are. Lead the way."

One of the guards got into the carrier, and everyone else got onto their own individual Zoomers. As a group, they all flew out toward the Port. After a long distance, the concrete path reached the water's edge and split into opposite directions, but the group kept flying forward across the water. The guards led Alexander to the farthest edge of the Port.

The Port had simply one long, curved path along the water's edge with three exits. The middle path led to the Palace, the west path led to the southern agricultural block, and the east path led to the Industrial Sector. But in the middle of the large expanse of water was also a series of bridges and platforms that crossed from one side of the Port to another. And around all that was a huge amount of water populated by many small ships.

But in the very rear of the Port, Alex found his group landing on the deck of a very large ship in the water. It looked like a short submarine. The group of Zoomers dropped down to hover on the wide deck of the ship. It was a flat, nearly rectangular surface with railings along each edge. There was a large container in the back of the ship, obviously where the engine was. But there was a large square hatch that opened up to reveal a staircase leading down into the hull of the ship, which extended a few yards into the water.

Alexander went down into the hatch first, and the rest of the group followed. They came into a large storage area, filled completely with metal boxes of various sizes. It was a maze of boxes.

He was rather dumbfounded. "Alright... so what do we do? Do we just go through each box and make sure everything inside each one is legit?"

"Nothin' doin'," Jinx interrupted. He walked over to a box and tapped the top of it. "Sealed shut. You ain't lookin' inside this thing for anything."

Alex raised an eyebrow, and walked over to the box. He placed his hands on the top of the box, and lifted. Nothing gave. "Guess not, then. So what do we look for?"

"We _look_," Jinx said with the air of an expert, "for any suspicious movements. If someone's gonna smuggle this thing out, they're going to do it while we're not looking."

Alexander glanced at Jinx with an incredulous look. It sounded kinda far-fetched to him. But he saw Jinx motion ever so slightly with his head toward the guards. And then things started to make sense. "Okay..." He looked up at the guards. "Go back up to the deck of the ship and look out toward the water. Make sure nothing's trying to sneak out while we're not looking."

"Roger," came the unanimous reply, and all of the guards raced up the stairs to check for any suspiciousness.

Jinx grinned and patted Alex on the back. "Nice job. Now... can you see the real story here?"

"The real story?" Alex echoed. He knew that Jinx had been bluffing in order to get the guards out of earshot, but he really didn't understand what was going on here.

He looked again at the box he had tried to open. It was a standard box made out of metal. On each edge there was extra metal to hold the sheets of the box together. But there wasn't a lid. So how was one supposed to unload this thing?

_**Try what Azelas told you,**_ Joumae said suddenly. **_See with your eyes rather than your mind._**

Alex frowned. How was he supposed to that? But as he started to think about what he was really seeing, his vision changed ever so slightly. He found himself looking at what he was seeing with a general view, rather than a focused look. There was actually a lesson in psychology to it, he discovered. He had been thinking about what he was seeing, instead of actually looking at it.

And as he looked at the box with his general view, he noticed something peculiar. Right above the strip of metal on the underside of the box was a small black line. He knelt down to inspect it, and his eyes widened in surprise. "No way..."

"Heh heh heh..." Jinx chuckled. "See the lid?"

Alex's jaw dropped. The boxes were upside-down! But the boxes' designs were so symmetrical that you could hardly notice. And the seam of the lid was almost hidden by the extra layer of metal!

He rose back up to his full height and looked over at Jinx. "Just what the heck are you planning?"

Jinx's grin became slightly broader. "My escape." He knelt down and reached up into the leg of his trousers from the cuffs, and pulled out a thin, long metal cylinder. "In the business, they have a name for people like me. Baggage boys. We specialize in blowin' crap up."

He tossed the cylinder into the air a couple of times. "Me and my boys were especially renowned in the biz, 'cause we were the best. And we were the best 'cause we knew our chemistry. Most demo guys just buy their stuff from suppliers and go to town, but we knew how to make our stuff for cheap with just the raw materials."

Jinx held out the cylinder to Alex. "This is full of black powder. Primitive stuff – not as strong as a KG cannon – but it's an explosive. The Baron sent me here, knowin' I'd know how to use this stuff right to send this rig to the bottom."

"What!?" Alex exclaimed.

"That's right," Jinx said with a grin. "The Baron wants this whole ship at the bottom of the port, and all of the black market goods with it."

Alex did a take. "And this is going to make your escape... _how_?"

Jinx settled for a smirk. "At first I was going to take it down and try to make my getaway, but now that you're here I'm sure we can work out an even better plan. That is, if you're with me."

* * *

"Get back here!"

The guards did a take as Jinx came running back up the stairs, with Alexander quick on his tail. Alex grabbed his foot, tripping Jinx as he came to the top steps. But Jinx got out of Alex's grip and dashed for the Zoomers. But there were two guards there already, and Jinx came to a halt as they aimed their guns at him. "What the hell's going on!?" one of the guards demanded.

"Don't shoot!" Alex shouted as he dashed up to the deck. "He's got a bomb on him! A foul shot could send us and the ship down to the bottom!"

All of the guards became wary immediately. There was no way they would be able to swim with all of that heavy armor on. Jinx grinned and said, "That's right, boys, so why don't you just move aside and let me outta here?"

But Jinx soon found the extended blade of the Crimson Catalyst Lockshield at his neck. "But I can still cut you up," Alex reminded him.

Jinx scowled and slammed his fist into Alex's gut. But Alex was used to taking hits by now, so he recovered rather quickly and threw a punch at Jinx in return. Jinx was forced to back up toward the edge, and Alex followed up by kicking Jinx in the chest.

Jinx toppled over the edge and splashed into the water. Alex and the guards raced to the edge and looked down, but they saw nothing but ripples. Then, after a few seconds, there was a muffled boom followed by a lot of water exploding upward.

Alexander sighed. "Well, that's that."

The guards looked at Alex strangely. "What the hell was that?"

"Looks like someone forgot to tell us that Jinx was on orders to blow up this ship," Alexander growled. "He'd been given a gunpowder bomb to breach the hull with. It would've taken all of us out along with him. But now it seems it blew up when he went down, so he's dead now."

"That was close..." one of the guards remarked.

"I'll say," Alex agreed. He then looked at all of the Krimzon Guards present. "For the record, everything in this boat was legit. Is that clear?"

There was a positive consensus. The sooner they all put this behind them, the better. Everyone got into their vehicles and started flying back to the Fortress. The boat would bring itself to the dock on its own anyway.

* * *

_Meanwhile, down in the cargo hold of the ship..._

Jinx looked up from the boxes he was hiding behind, and looked through the hatch to see the Zoomers leaving the deck. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. That had been a slick operation, but it had felt weird.

But Jinx finally grinned. He was free. "That time-stop stuff comes in pretty handy," he muttered to himself. "I'll have to keep that in mind if I see the kid again."

* * *

"...because somebody was too busy flirting with his mechanic friend to let me or any of the accompanying guards know about the bomb!"

In the briefing room, all of the Commanders' eyes turned to Erol. Alex was giving his report, and it was suffice to say that nobody was happy with Erol's actions. Torn's glare was especially intense. "Alexander," he said, without looking elsewhere, "you're dismissed. We'll discuss this amongst ourselves."

Alex smirked and left the room quickly. Even as he moved down the hall, he was able to hear a fair amount of shouting from behind him. Happy with this turn of events, Alex decided to make one last stop before going home.

He came to the high-security cell block, and moved toward one of the cells. "Hey... Azelas? You in there?"

There was a bit of a groan as Azelas moved up from his cot and to the small barred window. "Alex? What are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd let you know..." Alex replied, "Jinx is free. Managed to make it look like he died."

Azelas nodded grimly. "Krew will take him in with open arms, with his reputation. My guess is he'll be fine. Especially if he's going to be part of the games at some point."

"Yeah..." Alexander agreed. He trailed off, but then said, "Y'know, I could appeal for your release, and with all the work you've done..."

Azelas shook his head, and Alex stopped speaking. "Not going to happen," he replied. "The Baron doesn't want my kind free. You're a child, so he thinks you're easy to control, but he's not so naïve about my kind."

Alex put on a confused expression. "Your kind? What exactly is your kind?"

"Not something I think about very often," Azelas said. He sighed, and then added, "Kid, I've been in here for years. I'm comfortable with the fact that I'm not getting out, and I think it's better that way. And training you has been great for me." He paused. "You'll show up next week, and you'll be ready."

It wasn't a question. Alexander nodded and said, "That's right."

* * *

**Disclaimer: Alexander, Joumae, the Lockshield, the overall concept of The Interference, and related concepts and characters are the intellectual property of Newbie-Spud. _Kingdom Hearts_, _Fullmetal Alchemist_, and _Chrono Trigger_ and their characters and concepts belong to Square-Enix and its business partners. _Jak and Daxter_ and related concepts and characters are the property of Naughty Dog, Inc.**


	7. Death of Old Sandover

Chapter 6  
Death of Old Sandover

_KG Corporal Alexander Karsath – 12M 0D 9h 00m_

A loud series of beeping noises startled the young man into wakefulness. He propped himself up on his elbow and leaned toward the small table next to his bed, and slammed the leftmost button. The beeping stopped.

Alexander groaned and pushed himself off his bed. With late summer hitting Haven City as hard as it could, Alex had gone to sleep in simply a pair of slacks. Almost automatically, he got up from his bed and moved across his bedroom to the bathroom, turning on the light as he did so. He looked into the mirror, and his shirtless reflection stared back.

The last three or four months had been as rigorous as ever. The Metal Heads were getting increasingly brave, and attacking in more numbers. And Azelas certainly wasn't letting up in his training lately. Alex had gotten to the point where he could fight the larger man and be almost an even match, but Azelas always managed to exploit the tiniest fault in his technique before the lunch hour was over. Alex's body had sustained its share of scars and bruises which were apparent in his reflection today.

_**Good morning, birthday boy!**_ Joumae called out in Alex's head.

Alex's train of thought came to a complete halt. In his typical morning amnesia, he had completely forgotten that it was his birthday today.

_**Well, you would've remembered sooner or later. So how does it feel, being sixteen at last?**_

"...Weird," Alex finally replied. He glanced up at his hair, took a comb off the bathroom counter, and combed his hair back. Up until three months ago, he'd always had his hair simply combed forward when it wasn't magically spiky. He'd decided that he liked it better the other way, and he'd had his hair back ever since.

After a few strokes, Alex left the bathroom and moved over to the closet across his bed. His apartment was rather large, but it only had a couple of rooms. It was more of a hotel room than anything else, though he'd never stayed at a hotel before in the real world. And since the KG paid for the place in exchange for his work, he didn't really worry about it.

As he picked out a shirt from the closet and put it on, Alexander got to thinking. He was now sixteen years old as of today. How many sixteen-year-olds were military officers in another world? A world based off a video game, no less?

Alex sighed. He'd been in this world for an entire year, away from his real home in the real world. There was the Universal Failsafe Law to keep any time from passing there, in order to hide the Interference phenomenon. But how could it possibly hide the fact that Alex would have grown two years overnight? Furthermore, what were the other worlds doing in this time? Were the worlds of Kingdom Hearts, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Chrono Trigger moving along as well? Had a year also passed for Sora, Edward, and... Lucca?

_**I can't believe you still have a thing for her,**_ Joumae remarked. **_What do you see in her? On top of that, what does she see in you?_**

This was not the first time this question had been asked, but Alex had failed to come up with a straight answer. This occurrence would be no different. He couldn't really say what brought him to Lucca, other than that she was a nice young woman that he trusted. But Joumae's other question was valid.

But before he could torment himself with that question, another ringing sound broke into his thoughts. He looked over at the table next to his bed, thinking for a moment that it was his alarm clock again. But he then realized that it was his KG tag right next to the clock that was making the sound.

Alex walked over to the table, picked up his tag, and flipped it open. "Yes?" he asked.

_"Alexander! This is the Baron! Are you awake?"_ the voice scratched through the tag's tiny speakers.

It took a lot of effort not to roll his eyes, but he couldn't resist saying, "No, sir. I'm answering you in my sleep."

_"Well, get up!"_ the Baron barked. _"I need you over in Old Sandover, pronto! Expect the worst! Praxis out."_

The static ceased, leaving Alex somewhat confused. Expect the worst?

_**Not exactly something we don't do very often, with the Baron in charge. Now get dressed and moving. I don't want to piss off the Baron any more than you do this morning.**_

* * *

Old Sandover was a small section of the city just east of the Slums. But the Baron had ordered the construction of a very large wall between the Slums and Old Sandover for some reason, so Alex had hardly ever thought to go over there. There was a wide street in the back corner of the slums that led to the wall's door, so Alexander drove his Zoomer there.

He dropped to the lower hover zone and jumped off, and followed the street as it made a sharp right turn. He was now staring at the wall that the Baron was constructing, and it looked almost done. There was a group of engineers and Krimzon Guards milling around at a dug-up section right next to the wall's security door. In fact, the Baron himself was there, with Erol, Torn, and the rest of the KG Commanders behind him.

As Alexander approached, he heard the Baron shout, "Is this thing done yet!?"

One of the engineers, a twitchy, skinny man with spiky white hair and goggles over his eyes, cowered under the Baron. "I-I-It'll be just a little while longer... An hour at the most!"

"Make it half an hour!" the Baron barked. "I _know_ you can do it, Vin, so get to it already!"

Vin flinched, opened his mouth to say something, shut his mouth immediately, and then dashed off hurriedly to join his fellow engineers. Alex decided that this was a good place for a transition, so he said, "You called, Baron?"

Everyone turned to face Alexander. "Ah, Alex," the Baron said simply. "Good time. C'mon, let's go."

The whole group started walking into the small digging site, where the security door was located. The door opened up for them automatically as they approached, and they stepped into a circular room with another security door on the other side.

When the entire group was inside, the door behind them closed and the one in front of them opened. The group moved out of the room and came to the other side of the wall. They were on a dirt path with stone walls on either side of them. Alex looked around and saw lots of very old stone buildings of various heights. Stone walls separated the streets as many, many civilians walked around. There wasn't a Zoomer in sight.

But there were plenty and plenty of guards around. You couldn't look anywhere without seeing at least one Krimzon Guard or military vehicle. Obviously, something very big was about to happen here.

"Hey, Alex!" a familiar voice called out from down the street to Alex's left. Alex looked in that direction to see Azelas walking toward him with a KG rifle in his hands.

"Azelas!? What in the world are you doing here?" Alex asked, surprised to see his prisoner friend here.

Azelas seemed about to answer, but he looked past Alexander's shoulder. Alex looked back in time to see most of the Krimzon Guard Commanders rush past him and Azelas. The Commanders split up along the streets, and Alex guessed that they were going to join up with some of the other platoons further in the district.

"Anyway," Azelas said, regaining Alex's attention, "something big's going to happen here, so they apparently wanted me around." Looking around, he added, "I think that much would've been obvious."

Alex shrugged. "But what exactly is going to happen?"

Azelas took a couple of nervous glances in opposite directions, and leaned in toward Alexander. "A Metal Head attack. A big one."

The Interference froze. "...Sustained assault?" he asked quietly. Long battles were not good for Alex, especially without his magicked garments. His magic was limited, as well as his stamina. He could only use one Curaga per day. And even though he was in far better shape now than many months ago, he could only last so long on his own.

"One can only guess," Azelas answered. He then straightened up and pointed over to the walls surrounding Old Sandover. "From what little guard chatter I heard, it seems like this section of the shield wall is hard to maintain energy to along with the rest of the city." He then pointed at the large wall Alex had just emerged from. It basically isolated Old Sandover and made the rest of Haven City a perfect square. "My guess is they're setting up a new barrier and letting the old one fall apart."

Alexander looked around, slightly nervous. "But... why are there so many civilians walking around? If there's an attack, shouldn't we be evacuating them? Wouldn't there be a panic now?"

_**Maybe the Baron doesn't want a panic,**_ Joumae muttered. Alex scowled at this thought. Nobody had gotten a memo about this at all? Was the Baron just going to sacrifice everybody in this section?

Alex turned on his heel and walked over to the Baron, Erol, and Torn, who were still standing near the entrance. With a scowl still on his face, he walked over to the Baron and said, "Okay, so what exactly is going on here?"

"A critical operation," Erol answered. "We need to defend this new barrier until it's finished, or else the Metal Heads will overrun the city through here."

"Alright," Alexander replied, "but why aren't we evacuating everyone out of here? If the Metal Heads break in here, they'll kill everyone!"

Torn blinked at this, and looked up at the Baron. "He's right. We should still have some time before the Metal Heads arrive, so we should probably–"

"If we start that now," Erol cut in, "our guards will be off guard by the time the Metal Heads arrive. It's too risky."

"It's risky for them already!" Torn shouted, stepping around the Baron to get face to face with Erol. "We should be protecting these people. We should save as many as we can!"

"Keep your voice down!" the Baron snapped. "The last thing we need is everyone panicking in our direction, Commander. Besides, the Metal Heads will take time to take out any civilians in their path, which will slow their advance."

At this, both Torn and Alexander were in shock. "_Cannon fodder_!?" Alex exclaimed. "You can't be serious!"

"I _am_ serious," Baron Praxis growled. "If the Metal Heads get to this wall before it's operational, the entire city goes down! We can't afford to waste energy getting even more civilians within the new barrier."

"We _can_ afford it!" Torn argued. "But only if we start right _now_!!"

"Commander Torn!" the Baron shouted, extremely pissed by now. "You will _not_ be wasting my time today! Your orders are to take your guards and defend this wall from the Metal Heads... and **defend nothing else**! Is that _**clear**_?!"

Alex was just as angry as Torn about this, but he could see that Torn was struggling within himself. A very uneasy silence settled into the group as Torn kept his eyes fixed on the ground.

After a few moments, Torn muttered, "Crystal clear." Keeping his head low, he slowly walked past the Baron and Erol, heading for the security door.

Even the Baron was surprised by this. "Torn! Where are you going?!" he shouted angrily. But the Commander didn't respond as the security door closed behind him.

"A traitor," Erol muttered once it was clear that Torn wasn't going to return. "We'll have to take care of him later."

Baron Praxis grunted. "If he's smart, he'll stay out of our sight." He turned around and noticed Alexander once more. "Hmph. What about you, kid? Are you going to ditch us too?"

Alex clenched his hands into fists, but said, "No, I'm staying." He then turned on his heel and walked back toward his friend, Azelas. He was staying for his friend, not for the Baron.

* * *

About twenty minutes passed in silence. Many civilians around Old Sandover began to question what was going on, but nobody was allowed to answer them. More than a few Krimzon Guards simply told them not to worry, or that this was an exercise, or some other such lie.

Since Torn had gone AWOL, Alex was assigned to stand with Torn's division of troops, which included a Hellcat cruiser, about a dozen normal guards, and his friend Azelas. They were positioned in a large, lengthy stone pathway that was walled-in and built fairly high above the ground.

Finally, some static came through on the KG radios. _"First wave of Wasps heading in over the wall. Prepare for imminent attack."_

Alex, along with everyone else privy to that transmission, immediately became tense. They already had an idea of how large this invasion force was going to end up being, and that was going to make this a long day.

A low but insistent roaring sound began to echo through the area. Everyone looked up at the tall, decrepit wall opposite of the brand new one. And then just about everyone saw it. A group of flying Metal Heads, propelled by large rockets on their backs, with guns at the bottom of their torsos. These were the Wasp types.

Alex looked back to the main KG force nearest to the wall, and looked up to see a similar group of Krimzon Guards with enormous jet-packs attached to their backs. The flying Krimzon Guards flew toward the Wasps and opened fire with the rapid-fire Eco cannons attached to them as well, and the Wasps fired Dark Eco from their own cannons. Thus, a firefight in the air erupted above everyone.

This sent every civilian in the city section into a panic. This was shattering their world; the shield wall was supposed to be keeping the Metal Heads out. The fact that the old barrier was failing had been unfathomable until this very moment.

Alex considered using a Lightning spell to take out a couple of Wasps, but he, like the rest of the ground forces, soon had other things to be worrying about. A small tremor shook the ground and the buildings, accompanied by a muffled crashing sound from the far wall. Azelas, Alexander, and the platoon of Krimzon Guards up in the building turned toward the source of the sounds and tremors, and watched what happened next.

A _huge_ beast simply **burst** through the stone wall, sending debris in all directions toward the city section. It looked like a very bulky, enlarged, armored rhinoceros, with electricity shooting from its sides into the ground around it. The metal armor covering nearly its entire body seemed much thicker than that of normal Metal Heads, and the electricity it was shooting around itself made it impossible to approach. It seemed invulnerable.

Even Azelas, whom Alexander had known to show very little fear if any at all, seemed extremely worried by the presence of this monster. "Good God..." he muttered. "They sent in an Ele-Beast?!"

As the old shield wall began to collapse on both sides of the breach, many more Metal Heads began to pour in from the opening in the wall. The Grunt and Swiper types were very much prominent in the invasion force, but there were many other larger types that Alex had only heard about.

There were tall, bipedal, lizard-like Metal Heads with little armor on, wielding what looked like slings with which they lobbed Dark Eco at helpless civilians. Those ones were called Sling Blasters. Then there were what looked like bipedal Grunts that were wielding a staff that shot Dark Eco blasts at a rapid-fire pace, which were called Rapid Gunners.

There were also Juice Goons, which were bulky, bipedal Metal Heads with little armor on, wielding staffs that shot out electrical blasts to shock enemies. And then, towering over the humanoid Metal Heads, there were huge crab-like creatures with four sharp legs and a cannon on their right arms, which were called Spider Gunners. Those were heavily armored and really stable.

The Krimzon Guards on the ground, along with the ones stationed with Alexander up in the large buildings, began firing upon all of the invading Metal Heads. Azelas took aim with his rifle, which had been given a grenade launcher attachment. He fired a grenade down into the crowd of Metal Heads, creating an explosion of dark energy that knocked a few of the Metal Heads away and killed a couple of them.

But it was pure chaos. There were so many Metal Heads flowing in rapidly from outside the wall. Alexander had only seen one multitude so large – both in a video and in real life – and that group had been comprised of Heartless. But there were also so many shots going around that it was hard to tell if you were being shot at or not. And civilians were dying left and right as they tried in vain to escape, and their cries pierced any resolve Alex might've had.

"Some help would be great, Alex!" Azelas shouted as he fired another grenade into the throng below. This broke Alexander out of his reverie, bringing him back into the task at hand.

He summoned the Crimson Catalyst Lockshield, and clapped his hands together. His alchemy wasn't limited, so it would be his first option for the offensive. Alex then placed a hand on the wall next to him, and green sparks appeared. The green sparks traveled down along the building and to the dirt next to it, and spread across a large group of Metal Heads.

The monsters stopped for a moment, in curiosity of what was happening beneath them. Then, all of a sudden, a humongous multitude of sharp, metal spikes rose up from the ground, impaling and pounding the monsters as they rose. Most of the Metal Heads caught in the large-scale attack found their skull gems popping out of their skulls right before they faded away.

_**Good thing we spent some time working on your alchemy, huh?**_ Joumae said over the sounds of battle around them. _**Why have instant Stonespikes when you can have instant **_**Steel****_spikes!_**

Alex allowed himself a self-congratulation, even though the moment was tense. Trying to turn dirt into spikes of steel, especially from such a distance, was a very complicated alchemic feat. But with the studying and practice he'd been doing for so long, he could pull it off most of the time.

The Steelspikes disintegrated back into earthen material, revealing that the attack had left a _huge_ dent in the invasion force. But if one were to look past the broken wall again, one would find that there were still plenty of Metal Heads yet to advance through the opening.

Finally, some static came in through the Krimzon Guards' headsets again. _"The new barrier is online!"_ Commander Erol's voice came in through the radio. _"I repeat, the new barrier is online! Our work here is done. Prepare for evacuation."_

The sound of roaring engines approached from behind Alexander, and everyone on the building looked toward a section of the building that looked out to the rest of Old Sandover without any wall. A large, red, box-like ship, known as an Air Train, was approaching them. Several others were touching down at various parts of Old Sandover.

The Air Train approaching them rotated to face its rear toward them, and a large door lowered down to reveal the inside. It was empty, save for two long panels on both sides to serve as benches. Erol was standing in the back. "Alright, men! Let's get out of here!"

The Krimzon Guards wasted no time in running up the ramp into the ship and taking seats. Alex and Azelas also moved toward the ship, but Erol drew out a remote-like object and pointed it at Azelas. It was the control to Azelas's Shock-cuff. "The prisoner stays."

Alex and his friend stopped. "What?!" Alexander exclaimed in response. "There's no way anyone can survive by themselves with all these Metal Heads around!"

"That's the idea," Erol replied coldly. Looking straight at Azelas, he said, "You've outlived your usefulness, convict. The Baron no longer feels he needs you. I suppose you can thank this boy for that." He chuckled evilly as Alex and Azelas glanced at each other.

"There's no way I'm going to let him die out here!" Alex snapped.

Erol's evil grin only grew wider. "I order you to get onto this ship, boy. Are you going to ignore a direct order? The Baron doesn't take too kindly to that."

Alex grimaced. As much as he wanted to find a way through this situation, the sounds of the war around them told him that he didn't have the time. "Fine," he said quickly, not allowing himself to think about his hasty decision. "I'm staying."

Erol chuckled again, and the door of the Air Train closed up. The ship fired up its engines once again and flew off, leaving Azelas and Alexander on the high building by themselves. All of the other guards had evacuated already, and most of the civilians in Old Sandover had been killed by now. It was just them and the Metal Heads.

Azelas looked over at Alexander. "You gone crazy, kid?"

"I wasn't going to just let my last real friend die," Alex replied, looking around at the city below them. The Metal Heads were destroying everything they could, including the walls and small buildings. Given that pattern, it wouldn't be too long until they tried raiding the building they were in at the moment. "I've been in a situation like this before. Besides, there might be important survivors here. And with my abilities, maybe we can do something..."

A collective growling sound forced Alexander to trail off. A bunch of Metal Heads were moving down the hall behind them in an approach. Now that they were seen, the Metal Heads moved into a full charge. There were a few Grunts, a couple of Sling Blasters, and a Rapid Gunner in the back.

Azelas grabbed Alexander and pulled him back, and then started running away from the approaching Metal Heads. Alex followed quickly, getting the idea. The Sling Blasters lobbed orbs of Dark Eco at them, which exploded at the spots the two fighters had occupied moments before.

The large prisoner led Alex up some large stairs and around a corner, to a hall with pillars that led out to a pathway on the outside of the building. Azelas took cover behind one of the pillars, and Alex did the same on the opposite side. Azelas fired a grenade from his rifle just as a Grunt rounded the corner. The Grunt was thrown back by the explosion, but more soon followed.

Green sparks traveled across the floor from where Alexander placed his hands, and three rows of Steelspikes rose up at the corner, taking out all of the Metal Heads that were there, which included one of the Sling Blasters. Azelas fired yet another grenade, but the remaining Metal Heads moved out of the range of the resulting blast.

Suddenly, some Dark Eco blasts were shot from behind them, striking Azelas in the back. Azelas went down with a cry, and Alex gasped. He looked back to see a weak-looking Wasp Metal Head, which had fired the shots as it floated just outside the hall. Alex looked back at Azelas, who was now prone and groaning.

Thinking quickly, he switched his Lockshield to the Time Fracture and summoned up some magical energy. Golden energy rose up from his body, and he shouted, "_Lightning_!" A large bolt of lightning followed the incantation by striking the Wasp immediately, destroying it. To follow it up, Alexander stepped out from his cover and swung his shield toward the corner, shouting, "_Slash_!" As he swung his shield, the sharp edge created a blade of energy that raced through the air. As the Metal Heads stepped out to fire again, they found themselves sliced through by the Slash wave, and they were destroyed.

Alex ran over to Azelas, internally panicking. The Dark Eco blasts had burned through his tunic, leaving ugly burns on his back. He panicked even more. Azelas didn't seem to be moving much, either.

The boy heard more growling from all sides, and he decided what he needed to do. Before any healing could happen, he needed to make sure that the coast was completely clear. He summoned up as much magical energy as he could, and started to use a technique he hadn't used before.

The space around him darkened a little bit, and green energy shone from his body. As the green light became more intense, he began to rise up into the air a little bit. Finally, the green light left his body and collected at his feet. From the floor beneath him, a large sphere of green light began to expand, enveloping everything around him until it was as large as the building itself. The Metal Heads below watched this spectacle, some of them cowering in recollection of the last time they'd seen green light – right before the Steelspike barrage.

When it reached the peak of its growth, the walls of the sphere slowly began to lower from the top, and bright energy issued forth from the opening. The rushing of energy became more and more intense as the opening widened. And when the sphere had completely disappeared, the entire space around for a long distance was bathed in an explosion of obliterative energy.

The light soon faded, and Alex dropped to the ground, feeling incredibly exhausted. At long last, he had utilized Luminaire. He'd only seen it once in real life, but that had given him no idea of what a rush accompanied the use of that spell.

But he finally broke out of his daze and looked back at Azelas. The Metal Heads in the immediate area should've been more or less wiped out, so he rushed over to Azelas and turned him over. Azelas groaned loudly as he was forced to lay down on his wounds, and Alex winced at his mistake.

"Azelas...?" Alex asked. "C'mon, Azelas... Hang in there..."

Azelas slowly opened his eyes, and his breath became a bit heavier as he faced his pains. "Ugh..." he groaned, convulsing a bit.

Alexander gulped. "Hang on, I'm going to use my Cure spell and heal you, alright?" he said as he changed his Lockshield design to the Heartless Seal.

"No..." Azelas managed to groan. "You've... only got one..."

Alex widened his eyes at this, and said, "You haven't been knocked out, so a Life spell isn't going to work. It has to be Curaga."

"There's... still... a lot... more," Azelas choked, turning his head slightly toward Alex. "Use it... for yourself. I'm... already... long gone."

"What!?" Alexander exclaimed. "...A-Azelas! I can heal you, don't you get that!? Don't get dramatic on me!" As much as he was panicking, he also trusted Azelas's judgments, so a strong part of him didn't want to heal Azelas unless he wanted it, as silly as that was.

"Won't... matter," Azelas muttered, his mutterings becoming less disjointed as he seemed to become numb to the pain. "I can already... feel it. Like my body's... gonna... fade away... Your... spell... won't do any... good..."

"No..." Alex muttered, kneeling down near Azelas. Fear was running up and down his spine. Azelas was going to die at this rate!

"Don't worry about... me," Azelas said, seeing Alex's fear. "People... die... in a war. And I've seen... my share of wars. I'm a... Wastelander."

Alexander's eyes widened a little bit. The Wasteland was the lawless, barren desert area outside of Haven City, where the Metal Heads roamed. Some people were banished from Haven City into the Wasteland to die, but there were a rugged few who made their living on the hidden treasures and hobbies the Wasteland presented, as long as they were willing to fight for it. These people were called Wastelanders, and they were considered the cream of the crop amongst warriors.

"So," Alex said slowly, "that's what you meant when you said that the Baron..."

"...Didn't like my kind," Azelas finished for him. "The Wasteland is full... of banished people that don't agree... with the Baron. We... don't help him, ever." He let out a chuckle at this, but he winced at the pain that was caused by his body's shaking. "So... when he found me out, he... locked me up. He put my talents... to use a couple of times, but... they were mostly... suicide missions. By now..." he added, "I've been waiting for the day... that I would finally be killed by... the Baron's jobs. And this... is it."

A silence fell between them for a few moments. Azelas coughed, and then said, "Besides... If I was... anyone important... you would already have known... who I was and... what I looked like when... we first met... wouldn't you?"

Alex became more than a little angry. "That doesn't make you any less important!" he argued. "I mean... you're the best mentor that I could ever ask for! And... you've been a good friend to me, too..."

Azelas smiled a little. "I'm glad that I... have known you this last year... Alexander Karsath. You've given me something... to pass on, and I'm... proud to have... contributed... to someone who will be... facing many more... crucial battles in the future."

The Wastelander lifted his hand weakly and placed it on Alexander's Lockshield. "So... save that heal spell... for when you need it. I'm done. It's been a good run..."

A violet light enveloped Azelas's body, and then dispersed as his life energy floated up into the air before fading away. Alex watched the spot where the violet light had disappeared, refusing to believe what had just happened. His fists were clenched, and his face slowly turned from an expression of shock to one of anger.

He trembled with rage, looking back down to the ground as he brooded. A few moments passed in silence like this, until Joumae finally dared to quietly say, _**Alex...**_

**"Stupid!!"** Alex screamed, grabbing his own hair and gripping it painfully. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, _stupid_!! I...! I can't believe I just...!" he growled in unbelievable self-hatred.

_**Alex!**_ Joumae shouted, trying to get over Alexander's own voice. **_Get ahold of yourself!!_**

"Gaaah!" Alex shouted, ignoring his counterpart. "I never should've... I never should've bothered with this world! Damn it! I was so _stupid_...! Stupid for choosing this game, stupid for arriving two years early, stupid for getting stuck in prison, stupid for working for the Baron, stupid for **pretending** that this world has some good in it..." He started striking the ground repeatedly with a fist. "And _stupid_! _For_! _Letting_! _All_! _My_! _Friends_! _Get_! _**Away**_ from me!"

Joumae was absolutely stunned. _**Hey, Alex...**_

"No!" the teenage Interference cried out. "You just shut the _hell_ up!! You never have anything good to say! All you do is make fun of me and my mistakes! So just **shut up, Joumae**!!"

Alex waited, but heard nothing more in his head. With that off his mind for the moment, his mind turned to other things in his rage. He groaned and said, "I... _hate_ this world. I hate it so much..."

Out of nowhere, a growl interrupted his thoughts. He looked around quickly, but saw nothing around. But he knew what was happening. His Luminaire, while being widespread, had failed to take out the entirety of the massive Metal Head invasion force. More were seeking out the last survivors in order to kill them.

Suddenly, something warm began to envelop Alex's lower body where he was kneeling. A black aura had started appearing beneath him, starting from his legs and climbing up his body. With his face still contorted with anger, he rose and let the darkness continue to spread. Above everything else he hated about this world, Alexander especially hated the Metal Heads. There was nothing redeemable about them; all they liked to do was kill, brutally and indiscriminately.

The tendrils of darkness jumped up his body, reaching the base of his neck and spreading out to his hands. It wasn't the automatic transformation that his magical garments granted him; this was a slow transformation into Anti Form, fueled purely by rage. And Alexander had no qualms or questions about it at this point.

The darkness reached his hands, and Alex winced as he felt the ends of his fingers extend into claws. He then closed his eyes as the darkness covered his head and hair, making him a perfect pitch black with wisps of darkness coming off him. When he opened his eyes, they were a solid, bright yellow.

Anti Alexander glanced from side to side, and then turned around. Three Grunts rounded a corner on the stone balcony beyond the walls, and seemed startled by what they saw in the room.

Suddenly, the Grunts found the black creature rushing toward them, and they were slashed by claws before they could react in counterattack. The golden skull gems popped out of their bodies just as they faded away.

The monster that was Anti Alex glanced around, and noticed a large group of remaining Metal Heads gathered together some distance away. He leaped off the building, landed on all fours on the dirt road below, and bounded toward the Metal Heads with a sinister intent.

* * *

On the other side of the new barrier, a Hellcat cruiser rose up from the city and came to a hover just above the top of the wall. Seated in it was Baron Praxis, with Erol at the controls. The two KG officers looked down at the city below.

It was a ruins now. All of the buildings had been effectively destroyed, and there weren't any civilians within sight. But while there were still plenty of Metal Heads within the area, there weren't nearly as many as there had been when they had pulled out.

Erol lowered a set of binoculars from his eyes. "That green light must have been one of Alexander's attacks. I'm surprised there are many left after everything he's done to that army."

Baron Praxis grunted. "They were hoping to overrun the city. They hadn't counted on us building a new shield wall and leaving this place to them. Now they'll just kill and destroy whatever they can." He looked over at Erol. "Azelas and Alexander will be dead, then?"

"I'll be surprised if they won't," Erol said with a smirk. "It's just the two of them out there, against all of those Metal Heads. Even Alexander should reach his limit. It serves him right for betraying us and disobeying orders."

The Baron nodded passively, looking down at the ruins. But then something caught his eye, and he did a take at what he saw. The Baron's staring caught Erol's attention, and he looked into his binoculars again to find what Praxis was so surprised at.

And then he found it. Erol blinked and gripped his binoculars tighter, just to make sure he wasn't deluded. As he finally came to grips with what he was witnessing down in the town, he looked over to the Baron, who was also giving him a meaningful look.

Baron Praxis smiled ever so slightly. "That kid seems to have more capabilities than you thought, Erol."

Erol also smiled. "Yes, but... He's _perfect_."

* * *

Anti Alexander jumped up into the air and thrust his limbs outward. Blades of dark energy appeared and revolved around him, slicing up all of the Metal Heads nearby until they faded away into nothingness. Anti Alex landed back on the ground and started looking back and forth again for another target.

But then a pain wracked his whole body, making him stagger and clutch his head. Slowly, the darkness on his body started to flow off his body and dissolve into the air around him, and he eventually returned back to his normal appearance.

For a while, Alexander just stood there, exhausted and thoughtless. The rage was mostly gone. He'd fought so fiercely to the point that he'd forgotten what he was fighting about. Even when he reminded himself of Azelas and the Krimzon Guards, he didn't feel any more rage coming out in response. He felt... empty.

_**Give it a little bit of time,**_ Joumae stated, knowing that this was the point where he could return to conversing with Alex again. **_You don't express strong emotions often, so you're emotionally spent. Something just needs to happen to grab your attention again._**

Alex took a deep breath to clear his mind and get it working again. What would he do now? There wasn't really much point in fighting anymore. Just about everyone was dead in Old Sandover, and there was no way he could manage to drive off the Metal Heads for good. So it would probably be best for him to return to the city at this point.

Alexander turned around to start walking toward the security door, but then an unrecognizable sound broke into his thoughts. He whipped around and held his breath as he listened for the sound again. It called out again, and it was clearly a child's panicked cry.

Immediately, Alex took to a sprint, jumping over stone debris from fallen walls and dashing through the uneven dirt streets. The screams continued, leading Alexander along as he weaved his way through the forks and turns. Finally, he rounded a corner and came across the sight of a small child being confronted by two Rapid Gunners.

The two Metal Heads stalled in their advance on the child and slowly turned around. Alex quickly listed his options, judged some of their downsides, and assumed that a rush was his best chance, so he summoned the Heartless Seal Lockshield and slashed at the first Rapid Gunner twice before it could fire. He then followed up with a round kick, and then finished it with an uppercut slash that defeated it.

But the second Metal Head, as Alexander had feared in judging the rush tactic, turned quickly enough to fire upon Alex just as he finished off the first one. The Rapid Gunner fired, and a few blasts of Dark Eco caught Alexander in the side, throwing him against a nearby wall. In a panic caused by the pain, Alex hastily brought up his shield to block some of the blasts. But many of them got through, burning Alexander's clothes and body rather severely.

The Rapid Gunner stopped to reload, and Alex panicked as he realized that another barrage would kill him on the spot. Finally, he choked out, "Th..._Thundaga_," and caused a large bolt of lightning to zap the Metal Head, stunning it for a few moments. This gave Alex confidence enough to ignore his pain for a second, and he intoned, "_Magnega_." An orb of magnetic energy appeared behind the Rapid Gunner, sucking the monster into it and damaging it greatly. The skull gem popped out of its body, and the monster disappeared.

Alex groaned and did what first came to mind right then. "_Curaga_." A green light appeared around them, and Alexander's wounds immediately faded away and became healthy. His clothes were still burnt, but his body was now perfectly fine. He took a deep breath, clearly keeping in mind that this was the healing spell that had been intended for Azelas.

Finally, he looked over at the child he had just rescued. It was a boy who looked no older than maybe four or five years old. He had shockingly green hair under a leather cap, and he had large blue eyes. He was wearing a white shirt under blue cloth overalls, a white cloth belt, and no shoes. But most importantly, the boy had a red ruby necklace in shape he recognized. Two circles opposite each other, and two bent triangles extending from the circles, curving around each other like a yin-yang symbol.

"Wait!" a man's voice shouted out, and a figure came out from around the corner on the other end of the road. Alex started to get up using the wall as support, but paused as he looked at the short man running toward them. It was a green-skinned man with what looked like a darker green bush on his head, with a log going through it and a twig sticking out of it. He wore strange glasses that were larger in the left eye, and he wore log platform shoes. In fact, he looked quite like a younger version of Samos the Sage. And Alexander knew that this was exactly the case.

"Don't take the boy, please!" the younger Samos begged Alexander, moving toward the child and pulling the kid closer to himself. "The Baron wants nothing more than to kill this child, don't you see!?"

_**Huh!?**_ Joumae responded, stating exactly what Alexander was thinking at the same time. But then Alex realized what was going on, and looked at the shoulder plates he wore with the Krimzon Guard emblem clear to see on them.

Alex scowled and pulled off the shoulder pads, throwing them aside. "I couldn't possibly care less about what the Baron wants, alright?" he muttered. "I'm not your enemy."

The young Samos stared for a moment, and Alex could tell that he was taking his strange ears into account. The fact that he didn't have tattoos probably helped. Finally, Samos sighed in resignation and said, "Well then, can you help us? We need to get back to the Sacred Site."

"The what?" was Alexander's helpful response.

Samos rolled his eyes and pointed at a place away from the city wall. Alexander looked in that direction, and eventually settled his gaze on a distant structure. Peeking just above some of the ruined stone buildings was a large wooden hut that looked extremely familiar.

_**What the...!? That's Samos's hut from the first game! Alex, I'm confused...**_

Alex mentally told Joumae to go looking through his head for the answers, and looked back at Samos. "We need to get to that hut?"

"Yes," Samos said simply. "It contains a power that draws the Metal Heads to it. That's why they attacked this area of the city. If we can get there, we might be able to stop–"

_BOOM!_

Alex immediately turned around toward the source of the interrupting sound, holding his breath and listening closely. It was faint, but there seemed to be a rushing sound now... and it was getting louder.

"Oh no..." Samos mumbled. The child moved over to Samos and clung tightly to him.

At last, Alexander realized what was causing the rushing sound. It was _water_! Lots of it, rapidly flowing toward them! "Crap, crap, crap!" he cursed under his breath. They needed to find high ground, fast!

Alex looked around quickly, but there weren't any immediately available ledges. There was one directly above them, but far too high for them to jump to. Unless...

"Stay close to me!" Alex shouted, clapping his hands. As the kid and Samos moved close to him, a large wave of water crashed through the junction ahead and started quickly rushing toward them. Alex quickly slammed his hands to the ground, creating green sparks that covered the ground they were standing on. Just as the water was about to crash into them, a cylindrical stone pillar rose up from underneath them, propelling them above the wave and setting them to about level with the ledge above them.

The wave crashed into the pillar, and Alex felt it rumble with the impact. "Now get off!" he shouted this time, grabbing the small green-haired kid as he jumped onto the ledge. Samos quickly followed suit, and the pillar crumbled merely moments after they were clear of it.

Needless to say, both Samos and the kid were shocked. "What... What in the world was _that_!?" Samos yelled somewhat angrily, turning toward Alexander.

Alex rose and looked past Samos, seeing the old hut in the distance. "That was what just saved us. And it's also going to help in getting to the Sacred Site." He then looked over the ledge of the building they were now on, seeing the flooded streets below. "But why did _that_ just happen?"

The young Samos still seemed irritated as he looked out toward the rest of Old Sandover. "They must've broken a dam," he decided after a moment. "Haven City is surrounded by desert and ocean, and Old Sandover is in a place where those two meet. The place where the Metal Heads first broke through the wall is dry land, but another side of the old wall was blocking water. But not anymore, it seems..."

"But why would the Metal Heads destroy that section if it would flood this area?" Alex asked. "They still had their troops on the ground, didn't they?"

Samos opened his mouth to respond, then shut it and thought for a moment. Finally, he said, "Then perhaps it was the Baron who had it done."

Alex scowled. It made so much sense it was infuriating. After a bit of brooding, he said, "Alright, let's get over to the Sacred Site and find a way to stop this attack."

* * *

A group of Wasps flew over the tall wooden hut, which was suspended a good distance above the water level by an intricate structure of wooden beams. A Grunt at another part of a nearby building tried to take its chances by jumping into the water and swimming to the structure, but it was electrocuted and killed as soon as it touched the water. When the Metal Heads had broken down the wall, they had exposed a large section of an Eco flow that was still active, which was now charging the water. It wasn't enough power to kill a human in one or two doses, but the effect was magnified by the Metal Heads' bodies.

Alex peeked around a pillar as the Wasps passed over, with Samos and the kid behind him. Assuming that it was clear, Alex dashed forward and transmuted a wooden bridge connecting the building and the hut's base. He quickly dashed across the bridge, and Samos quickly followed suit, making sure the kid was keeping up. When they had all crossed, Alex transmuted the bridge again to destroy it.

They finally reached the hut and went inside. It looked almost exactly like how it appeared in the first game, except that everything inside was old and dark. Alex looked back to Samos and asked, "What are we going to do, then?"

Samos didn't answer immediately, but instead walked toward the center of the room, looked up, and held his hands up toward the ceiling. Alexander and the child watched as a green, glowing, pod-like object slowly hovered down from a compartment in the ceiling and floated into Samos's hands.

"This," Samos said, turning to Alex with the object in his hands, "is the Life Seed. A long, long time ago, there was a great tree that held tremendous power and Eco within it, and this Life Seed was spawn of that great tree, which has since died out. This seed is still a great energy source, even though it hasn't fully developed yet. And the Metal Heads are drawn to it."

Alexander nodded. A lot of this was stuff he already knew. This Life Seed was actually a very important part in the game, and he found himself intrigued by how this was all fitting together. But nonetheless, there was still a problem at hand. "I'm listening."

Samos held the Life Seed up above his head, and it floated back into the air above them. "I have some Channeling ability when it comes to Eco in this form. Not enough to let me speak to the plants, but more than most can claim. For instance, I have just enough power to influence the Life Seed so that it doesn't radiate so much energy."

Almost on cue, the Life Seed lost its glow very suddenly. It rose back into the compartment in the ceiling and out of sight. "Like that," Samos said after a moment.

Alex looked back out the hut's door, and looked over the entire ruins. Groups of remaining Metal Heads all over the place had suddenly stopped in a bewildered fashion. "So now what?" Alex muttered.

"Now we wait," Samos said, walking over to the short kid that had accompanied them. "The energy is no longer attracting them. The Metal Heads have not yet realized exactly where the Life Seed is, so they will eventually give up and head back to their nest. So the attack is now over."

Nodding, Alex kept looking out at the ruins. It almost looked... fairly familiar now. Like it was a part of the game. Of course, it was then that it clicked in Alex's mind: This _was_ a part of the game. This had been an undocumented, but still important, event of the game. What was once Old Sandover would henceforth be called Dead Town.

"By the way, young man," Samos said, breaking Alex's attention away from the ruins, "I don't think we ever exchanged names. I am known to some as The Shadow, but you may call me Samos. And you are?"

Alex shrugged. "Alexander. Corporal of the KG, but... that doesn't really matter to me much."

Samos nodded. "Well, Alexander, it can't go without saying that we are immensely in your debt. Without you, we both might have perished, and the Life Seed would've been lost to the Metal Heads." At this, the kid clinging onto Samos smiled up at Alex and nodded.

The old man's assumption seemed unlikely to Alex. After all, the two of them and the Life Seed were present in the main storyline anyway, so they would've survived somehow anyway. But... when the kid had been cornered by the Metal Heads, it was only by Alex's intervention that he had scraped through that encounter. So what would've happened if Alex hadn't been there.

And then it dawned on him in an instant. _Azelas_. Azelas would have been left behind whether or not Alex had been involved. Chances are, if Alex hadn't been around, Azelas would've lived long enough to help Samos and the kid achieve the same end that they had reached just now. In fact, that was the only reasonable explanation.

This realization seemed to have created a strange expression on Alex's face, because Samos asked, "Is something wrong?"

Alex averted his gaze. "Someone would've helped you, if not me. He probably would've died anyway, but he would've done for you what I've done now." He then fell silent as he returned to mourning Azelas's passing.

The kid and Samos exchanged a glance, and Samos walked over to him. "That may be so... And the bravery of whatever friend you've lost is nothing to overlook. But the fact remains that you had that same bravery of your own, and we are still grateful to you."

Alexander nodded passively, and continued to stare out one of the windows. The Metal Heads were starting to move out of the ruins now, so it would only be a matter of time before the coast was clear. Then a strange thought crossed his mind, and he looked over at the kid. "What's this guy's name?"

Samos was silent for a moment. "I'm not entirely sure," he admitted. "I just found him wandering the streets some time ago, but the symbol around his neck could mean that he's the true heir to the throne."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Heir?"

"Haven City was originally a monarchy," Samos explained. "It was ruled by a dynasty of kings called the House of Mar, named after the great hero that founded Haven City. But the last king in that line was betrayed by Baron Praxis and banished to the Wasteland, and Praxis took complete control. No one's seen the king in years, but if the king's son were to rightfully reclaim the throne, we wouldn't be subjected to the Baron's tyranny any longer!"

Samos leaned down toward the kid and pointed at the ruby necklace. "The symbol of his necklace is the Seal of Mar, the emblem of the House of Mar. That could only mean one thing; that this boy is the lost heir! This child needs to be kept safe until we're in a position to overthrow the Baron, so he's been in the custody of the Underground ever since."

Sighing, Alex nodded. "I see." Most of this was stuff he already _knew_, yet again. But none of it would come into play for another whole year.

...Strange. He'd almost forgotten that it was his sixteenth birthday. Alex frowned and leaned against the wall of the hut, very melancholy all of a sudden. This would never have been how he'd have wanted to spend his sixteenth birthday. This would never have been the place he would've been celebrating it. Yet here he was, trapped by a series of accidents.

Alex quickly looked back to the ruins again, and got back to a standing posture. "I'm gonna get going. I can't stand around here for the rest of the day."

Samos nodded. "I see. ...Listen, if you get the chance, look into the Underground. I think we share a common sentiment toward the Baron, and a person with your strengths would be a great help indeed."

The young man stopped as he reached the door, and smirked. "Don't I know it."

* * *

Since the landscape now resembled what he vaguely remembered from the game, it was no challenge to navigate his way back to the security door and make his way back into Haven City. As the first door slid open and Alex stepped into the chamber within, Joumae popped into Alex's mind. _**Hey! I'm back from looking into your memories. Man, there's a lot of stuff about this game world, huh?**_

"Yeah," Alex muttered, not really caring at the moment. The large door behind him closed and locked itself, and the security door in front of him slowly began to unlock. "...I can't believe it's been exactly a year."

_**And you're still alive. Don't knock it.**_

The door opened up, and Alex stepped through. The door was lower than the ground level of the Slums, so Alex had to jump up a high ledge in order to get up into the alleyway. But as he was climbing up, he heard a sinister laugh.

Alex froze for a moment, and then hesitantly peeked over the edge. Erol was standing next to a prisoner transport with a bunch of guards next to him. Alex scowled and finally got onto the ground. As he walked toward Erol, he said, "Alright, what's got you so smug _this_–"

Suddenly, two guards that had been hidden in Alex's blind spot rushed him and grabbed his arms. "Hey, what the...!?" He squirmed against the guards, but they managed to put something onto his arms before letting him go. Alex glared at the guards for a moment and then looked down at his hands.

Alex froze in fear. Locked onto his wrists were two white bracelet-like devices with large crystals embedded into them. Alexander gasped and quickly looked up at Erol. The KG Commander was holding what looked like a remote control. With a sneer, Erol pressed a large blue button on the remote.

"**AUUUGH!!**" Alexander screamed as four tiny blades from each Shock-cuff sliced into his wrists, into the exact same places where he already had scars. And before Alex could do anything, Erol had already activated the cuffs' second function. All of a sudden, electrical energy began to violently course through Alexander's body, causing him to seize up and convulse uncontrollably.

Alex's entire world was extreme pain before it became total blackness once again.

* * *

When Alexander finally came to, he could immediately tell that he was no longer in the city. He tried moving his limbs, but found himself restrained. At last, he weakly opened his eyes once again, only to be greeted with the sight of a very large and sinister-looking machine above him.

Alex's eyes shot all the way open, and he panicked. He was strapped to the chair in the middle of the high-security cell block! This was where they subjected Jak to the Dark Eco treatments!

"Ah, you're awake," said the voice that Alex had immediately come to hate with a passion. Alex did his best to look down across his strapped body and look at Erol as he walked across the narrow bridge spanning the bottomless pit on all sides of the torture platform. "I was beginning to think about starting this without you. But you are the star of this event, so I decided to wait a little longer."

Alex snarled. "You'd _better_ not do what I _think_ you're gonna do, Erol..."

Erol's sneer didn't fade at all. "And why not? You're a convict again. You disobeyed a direct order from a Commander. How long would it have been before you would run away to the Underground? We can't have a special case like you get away so easily..."

Alexander kept up his glare as he stared at Erol for a few more moments, but saw something in Erol's expression that suddenly frightened him. "That's..." he mumbled, "not it, is it?"

"Heh," Erol chuckled, "I suppose I don't see anything wrong with building upon dark powers that are already there."

"...Gaaah!" Alex shouted, trying in vain to break out of the chair's restraints. The bastards had seen his Anti Form!

In the middle of his struggling, an automated female voice monotonously stated, _"Commencing Dark Eco injection cycle."_

There was a single moment of tension. And then a current of violet energy shot out of the machine above them and forced itself into Alexander's chest. The pain was absolutely unbearable, and Alex started to scream at the first second. It was... worse than being electrocuted. It was like the Dark Eco was trying to destroy and change every cell of his body by force. Alex's body wanted to black out and throw in the towel, but the energy coursing through didn't allow for that to happen. He had no choice but to wait through the agony.

But eventually, the minutes passed, and the injection cycle ended. Alex's screams and flailing ceased, and he fell back into unconsciousness. The automated voice said, _"Dark Eco injection cycle complete. Bio readings nominal and unchanged."_

Erol grinned at this. As the guards began to take Alex's limp body back to his old cell, Erol muttered, "He's _perfect_."

* * *

One whole month went by as such. Every day they would subject Alexander to another Dark Eco treatment, and he would return to his cell in unconsciousness. Sometimes he would wake up moments before the next cycle began, but he would be in too much pain to move or resist as they brought him to the chair again and again.

On the thirtieth day, Alex once again woke up in pain. He really wanted to die. But the Dark Eco was still changing his body, almost like it was trying to claim it. So it wouldn't _let_ him die.

_So, you're finally awake with enough time to spare..._

The sound was so faint, Alex almost didn't hear it. He groaned and stared up at the ceiling as he laid on the floor of his stone cell. "...Joumae?" he croaked, his throat sore... along with everything else in his body.

_Yeah, it's me. We haven't... spoken in a while. This Dark Eco stuff has been having a bad effect on me as well... I'm getting weaker._

Alex inhaled sharply.

_And it's not like back in Amestris,_ Joumae continued, _where your Anti Form took a personality and replaced me. No... that Dark Eco stuff is **integrating** the darkness into your body, instead of trying to take it in one shot. Which means I'll be wiped off the slate for good..._

Alex tried to get up, but more pain arrived to stop him. "Joumae..." he managed to gasp.

_I'm just another part of who you are anyway. You don't need me. I may be the official will of the Lockshield, but that really doesn't mean squat. It's your weapon; it's a part of you. I was just the annoying back seat driver to help you out in the start. Heh heh heh... the tutorial, you might say..._

The door to his cell began to open. _There we go. Time to exit stage left..._

"No..." Alex moaned, but couldn't do anything as two Krimzon Guards picked him up and hauled him off toward the chair again. He offered no resistance, physically and mentally defeated as he was. If he tried to resist, Erol would just activate the Shock-cuffs and bring more pain. And he was getting enough pain as it was.

As he was strapped into the torture chair again, Erol pushed past some of the guards and looked down at Alexander. "Ah, I see you're conscious this time," he remarked. "That's fortunate. There's someone I want you to meet before we get today's session started."

Erol stepped aside as a figure in a black coat came into Alexander's vision. The figure was wearing a hood at the moment, obscuring the face. Slowly, the person reached to his hood and pulled it back, revealing the man's face. The man's eyes were a strange, sinister golden color, and he had long hair that was a dirty blond color. He had short ears like Alex's, and he had a very charismatic face that was bearing an evil grin.

All at once, the pain in Alex's mind cleared as he immediately knew who this man was. His eyes widened and his face contorted into a scowl as he screamed out, "_**Even**_!!"

_"–injection cycle."_

The pain resumed once again, breaking Alexander's moment of intense focused hatred and shattering his mind. He didn't scream as the Dark Eco pulsed its way into his body, but his body continued to convulse.

Two minutes passed, as was the quota for these injections. Yet again, the robotic voice stated, _"Dark Eco injection cycle complete. Bio readings nominal and unchanged."_

The Heartless apprentice Even looked down at Alexander. The boy was staring straight upward with his eyes half open. He grinned at the long-eared man beside him and remarked, "Truly a remarkable procedure. And only two have survived this?"

When Erol nodded, Even looked back toward Alexander again. "I'll certainly have to study this further. Leave Alexander's treatments to me, and you can focus on the other subject. Believe me, I know more about Alexander's roots more than anyone else."

Erol nodded. "Very well." He and the other guards left the platform, leaving Alexander and Even alone in the middle of the room.

Even grinned. "Can you get up, boy?" At this, Alexander slowly and steadily got up from the chair and stood in front of Even. His expression didn't change, and his eyes never focused. He didn't even seem to recognize Even anymore.

Seeing this, Even was a little surprised. He waved his hand in front of Alex's face, but the boy's eyes didn't follow. There wasn't anything but an automaton inside of Alexander now.

"Ha!" Even laughed. "Go to your cell, now!"

Once again, Alexander did as he was told without response, automatically crossing the bridge and going into his cell. As the door to his cell closed behind him, Even let out an evil cackle and said, "Oh, how the mighty have fallen..."

* * *

**Disclaimer: Alexander, Joumae, the Lockshield, the overall concept of The Interference, and related concepts and characters are the intellectual property of Newbie-Spud. _Kingdom Hearts_, _Fullmetal Alchemist_, and _Chrono Trigger_ and their characters and concepts belong to Square-Enix and its business partners. _Jak and Daxter_ and related concepts and characters are the property of Naughty Dog, Inc.**


	8. Let's Play

Chapter 7  
Let's Play

The Heartless apprentice was losing his patience.

Baron Praxis's Dark Warrior Program had reached a significant milestone. The next day would be Jak's second _year_ of being pumped with Dark Eco. For the Interference, it would be one year, but it was still an entire year of Dark Eco Treatments every _day_. And yet, despite all that time, very little had actually happened!

There had been a gradual change in Alexander. Over the course of the year, Alexander's ears had gradually changed to match the shape of the residents; they were long and pointed at the end. The apprentice Even surmised that the Dark Eco was changing his genetic structure significantly.

But other than that aesthetic change, there was absolutely nothing else. Not once had Even seen Alexander's Anti Form, which was what he would've expected by now. The other prisoner, Jak, had seen absolutely no change at all. The Dark Warrior Program was turning into a failure.

But Even found himself reluctant to cut his losses. As he walked into the private office that the Baron had so graciously given him, he toyed with the idea of just killing Alexander and getting it over with. It didn't seem like the best option. For one, if the Interference was killed, then the world he was currently in would cease to exist. The Heartless apprentices didn't maintain the Interference phenomenon, though heroes from other games did.

Most importantly, however, Alexander represented _unimaginable_ potential for power. The fact that he was able to live through so many Dark Eco Treatments was proof of that. And the best part was that he was currently in an automatic state, not thinking for himself.

Though when Even considered that aspect of Alexander's condition, a bit of doubt crept into his mind. He wasn't automatic all of the time. Whenever Dark Eco was being pumped into the boy, it seemed like he was somewhat conscious. That's why Even had come up with the idea of ripping out Alexander's heart and moving on. His power would be much more useful as a Heartless by this point.

A dark aura started to collect on the other side of the room, and Even turned to face it. The darkness gathered and spread until it covered that edge of the floor, and then moved up the wall until it was about as tall as Even. When it reached its full area, Even was able to see two figures wearing black clothing and dark hoods on the other side of the dark portal.

"Braig, Ienzo," Even stated, looking at his two remaining comrades through the portal. "I assume that this world is now connected to the others now, since you're able to communicate."

One of the two nodded. Even nodded back and continued, "I've been in this world for a little less than a year now, but it seems that Alexander had already spent more time than that before I had arrived. I suppose I was lucky to have arrived before this moment at all."

The second apprentice standing in the darkness said, "So, dude, what's the deal with Alex in this world?"

Even smirked. "He's a captive of the current despot... as well as his own mind, and he's had Dark Eco pumped into him every day for about a year now." He slowly lost his smirk. "With very few results."

The first apprentice, Ienzo, tilted his head to the side slightly. "...Dark Eco?" he said in a soft, calm voice.

Even reached toward his desk and picked up a small vial filled with a violet, glowing plasma. "Dark life force, it seems. It is quite peculiar, even with all of the tests I've done with it. Normally it kills or severely damages whatever it touches, but Alexander and another prisoner have been almost unaffected by it." He tossed the vial through the portal, and Ienzo caught it.

Ienzo studied the vial for a moment, but then looked back up at Even. "You say he's been injected with this darkness manifest for nearly a year now?"

Even scowled. "If the records are correct, it'll be exactly a year as of tomorrow. It'll be the second year for the other prisoner."

Ienzo nodded. He was silent for a moment after that, but he finally said, "You need to dispose of him."

"What?" Even responded, slightly taken aback.

"If the last two encounters have been any indication," Ienzo replied calmly, "then we can see that Alexander has an annoying habit of making a strong comeback from whatever _almost_ defeats him. For Dilan, it was the darkness that nearly took control of him. In Elaeus's scenario, Alexander was literally killed but brought back to life through a time paradox. If that remains the trend..."

Even scowled. "...But his _potential_..."

"Then rip out his heart and be done with it, dude," Braig said with a shrug. "But hey, it's your show. We ain't gonna come in there and take over. We gotta worry about what we're gonna do when our turn comes."

"Your turn _isn't_ going to come," Even snapped. "I'm going to master Alexander's power and then destroy him once he's reached the end of his usefulness. I'm not going to wait until the final clash like those other fools."

There was silence from the other two apprentices for a couple of moments, but Ienzo slowly replied, "Those other fools were our fellow students at one point." He held up the sample of Dark Eco. "We'll research this a bit more with our resources. Best of luck to you, Even."

The portal's darkness broke apart into many wispy tendrils and dissipated into the air.

* * *

Even watched as Alexander walked out of his cell automatically and place himself on the torture chair. As amusing as this had been when it had all started, it was really frustrating on the other hand. While the Krimzon Guards accompanying him closed the security locks on the chair, Even seemed content to stare at Alexander for a few moments.

Most of the guards that had known Alexander in the first year were dead or deserted by one cause or another, so all of the guards assumed that this was simply another resident of this world. It was amazing how that had turned out. Through _this_, Alexander had gone from being the outcast to being one of them. The ears were just as long and pointed as any average citizen, so it was easy for him to blend in if he were to rejoin this world's society.

"Double the time," Even muttered as one of the Krimzon Guards moved toward the controls of the torture chair. Alexander laid himself down on the chair of his own volition once again, and another guard closed the chair's cuffs around his ankles and arms.

The KG at the controls nodded and pressed a few buttons. The automated voice above stated, _"Commencing Dark Eco injection cycle."_

Dark Eco shot down from the machine and into Alexander's chest once again, spreading out all over his body as he started to writhe and scream. His voice was a little bit deeper than it had been when this had started. All of his flailing around did him little good, as usual. By around the end of the third minute of the injection, Alexander's screaming and flailing took on a new intensity, like he sensed that the injection time had been lengthened.

Even studied Alex, watching his eyes especially. Near the end of the injection, they were very wide and filled with the same hate he had seen right before they had broken his mind. There wasn't an emptiness in there when they ran these injections on him.

But it came to an end. Alex's body went limp as the Dark Eco flow ceased, and the automated female voice reported, _"Bio readings nominal and unchanged."_

That was it, then. Nothing. The Dark Eco – a substance reputed to alter and destroy everything it touched – was having absolutely no effect on the Interference's Anti Form. And it certainly wasn't bringing him back from this automatic state. Alexander Karsath was now completely useless.

The Heartless apprentice dismissed the Krimzon Guards, and waited until they were out of the prison area. Then Even held up his hand, which became engulfed in an inky black smoke. When the smoke dissipated, in his hands was a small shield with a dark golden design, a silver Mickey symbol in the middle, and a keyhole in the very center. Even raised up the Kingdom Copy Lockshield and advanced on Alexander.

"Are you sure you want to do that? This world will disappear, you know."

Even stopped and sighed at the voice behind him. "There's nothing else to be done. The time I'm spending here is doing no good. It would be better to quit while I'm ahead."

"Fair enough... But **you** don't need to do it. Leave him, and let the Baron kill him when he sees that nothing has happened. That will give you a little time to get ready."

Even turned around to find the source of the voice, but there was no one else around. The Heartless apprentice looked back at Alexander and dismissed the Lockshield. His eyes were still wide in shock, but there was no other sign of cognition. "Hmph. Fine." He turned to leave, but then returned one more time and smirked. "Oh, I almost forgot. Happy birthday, Alexander Karsath."

Feeling a bit better now, Even walked across the narrow bridge and walked out of the prison complex, leaving Alexander to die.

* * *

"_Happy birthday, Alexander Karsath."_

Little did Even know that the extended length of the Dark Eco Treatment had kept Alexander's mind barely functioning for a little while longer. In his retreating consciousness, Alex had managed to be just enough aware of how much he hated Even, and how much pain he had just gone through.

Every time the Dark Eco flowed through him, it brought him back to consciousness, and his mind shut right back down when the flow ended. So Alex had been conscious for only all of the Treatments this year, which meant that his life had become one long, uninterrupted session of pain. Those two minutes every day – and the four minutes this particular day – had been experienced in one long session of back-to-back torture.

But when Even told him to celebrate his birthday, Alexander's mind started to kick itself into a higher gear. Even had reminded him that another year had passed, making Alexander seventeen years old. Two years had gone by in this horrible, horrible place, where he had suffered so much and so long and in so many ways. Every memory he'd had in the fourteen months before the Treatments began was coming back clearly. Including, of course, when he had started this adventure, with his fifteenth birthday being officially celebrated.

It angered him. Slowly, Alex's conscious mind regained control of his mechanical functions. He flexed his hands and tried to move his limbs, only to realize that he was Shock-cuffed and bound to the torture chair. His strength returned a little more, and he struggled against the binds. He wanted to get out of here! Even was probably somewhere nearby, so he needed to get out of here! He needed to get Even back for what he'd done!

As more and more angry thoughts brought him back, Alexander felt himself coming back to full strength and more. He fought against the chair's locks angrily, trying to tear his hands out of them to little avail. But as he tried with the rage supporting him, Alexander felt something literally spark within him. Violet energy started to course across his body, and Alex felt something painfully change within him.

A bright blue flash occurred in the room, blinding Alexander and making him even angrier. Suddenly, he felt the resistance on his limbs give way, and he leaned forward and fell off the chair onto all fours. The violet energy moving across his body intensified, and he screamed as darkness spread from his heart and quickly covered his body. The darkness was all over him in what seemed to be an instant, and Dark Eco constantly sparked as Alexander began to resemble a Heartless.

The changed Anti Alexander shielded his eyes from the bright blue light that had appeared. His vision was blurry and light-sensitive, making this presence extremely infuriating. With an angry cry, Anti Alex got up and leaped across the chasm to attack the light presence that was on the other side, swinging one sparking claw at the light when he got close.

But he suddenly felt something stop him in midair, and he was suddenly thrown to the side. The surprise of the situation made him forget his rage for the moment, and the pain of falling to the ground reminded his body that he needed to conserve energy. So as he came to a stop, the darkness slowly left his body, and the violet sparking ceased.

Alexander groaned, feeling all manner of pain at his new situation. He slowly started to get up, placing his hands on the floor to push himself up. But in doing this, he noticed that there was less weight on his hands than he was expecting. He looked down as his vision began to clear, and saw fresh scars around his wrist. More important, he saw his wrist, meaning that the Shock-cuffs had been removed somehow.

"Feeling better, Karsath?" a voice asked him from beside him. Alexander looked to the side and blinked a bit, struggling to get back to his feet. He looked up, and saw a man in blue robes and a tall, pointed blue cap, being very tall and having a long, gray beard. It was a face he had seen before, but where...?

All of a sudden, he remembered. "Yen Sid!" Alexander snapped angrily, using his voice for the first time in a long while. He advanced on the tall Disney wizard and shouted, "What the _hell_ are you doing here!?"

Yen Sid seemed mildly surprised by Alexander's demeanor. "I'm trying to help you escape this place," he said, gesturing toward the torture chair. It was his magic that had released the chair's security lock and removed the Shock-cuffs.

But Alex didn't care. "_Now_!?" he screamed. "I've been in here for two years. Helping me escape sooner might have been helpful!!"

Yen Sid remained silent for a moment, staring at Alexander as he ranted at him. Then, he finally said, "It appears it hasn't been two years for _us_, Alexander."

As this dawned on Alex, it only made him even more angry. "Figures!" he shouted, turning away from the wizard. It only made sense that all of the other worlds would stand still while the two years passed before the actual gameplay. It was infuriating, but it made sense. No one would've been able to come and help because this world hadn't even existed. That meant the Kingdom Hearts, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Chrono Trigger people were right where he'd left them two years ago.

Yen Sid let out a small sigh. "I suppose I should apologize, but you must understand that..."

"Yeah, I know," Alex snapped, cutting Yen Sid off. "I get it. I was on my own. Apparently I did just fine, didn't I?" he added sarcastically.

The wizard shook his head slowly. "It matters little now. Time is of the essence. It won't be long before someone comes to this place, and you must escape." He held out his hand, and a blue orb appeared floating above his palm. "I came here because I sensed that your special garments had been lost. I asked the three good fairies to design you new ones to help you."

This caught Alexander's attention. He'd been in prisoner's clothes for a very long time now, and he hadn't been able to enjoy the benefits of magicked clothes for even longer. He turned back to Yen Sid and stared at the orb for a second. He then reached out and took it. Alex looked up at Yen Sid for a second, and then crushed the orb under his hand.

Blue light enveloped Alexander for a moment, forcing the young man to shield his eyes. When the light faded, Alex felt that he was now in different clothes, just as he had expected. He glanced over himself quickly.

He was wearing a dark blue long-sleeved turtleneck, and a black short-sleeved jacket. The jacket had a white Kingdom Hearts crown symbol in front of his left shoulder and a white Kingdom Hearts heart symbol behind that shoulder. Around his waist was a violet-colored sash with two parts connected by a watch in the front and to his left. The watch had the symbol from Chrono Trigger embossed in it. He was wearing black pants and black steel-toed boots. On his right hand was a black glove with the thumb, index, and middle fingers cut off, and on his left hand was a glove that resembled the one Roy Mustang of the FMA universe had given him, save for the pinky and ring fingers being cut off.

"Not bad," Alex said, looking back up. But Yen Sid had disappeared. Alexander groaned at this, but then remembered that he needed to get out of here. He felt full of renewed strength and power, and felt better than he'd ever had before. He looked up to some of the rows of cells above the ground floor, and noticed a small ledge in front of those rows. This gave Alex an idea.

Alex ran toward the wall, bent his knees to get down low, and then jumped. He flipped backwards and rose to an incredible height, and then caught onto a high ledge. He climbed onto the ledge and laid down on his stomach, grinning. It was good to have his High Jump again. Quick Run and Aerial Dodge were nice things to have, too.

It seemed he had done this not too soon, because the large door on the right side of the room slowly began to open up. Through it, Alex watched Baron Praxis and Erol walk into the room.

The Baron looked at the torture chair and grunted. "Looks like Even's pet's been put away. Let's get the other one."

Erol nodded and motioned with his hand. Two Krimzon Guards entered the room, and opened up a cell on the ground floor. Fortunately, the ledge Alex was on was wide enough that he could remain hidden as long as he was low enough. It was in this hiding, however, that he noticed his lengthened ears. This immensely surprised him. He now had ears just like the residents! This meant he could fit in here, but it also meant this would be strange just about _anywhere_ else...

On top of that, his hair was now spiky again.

Alex got off that train of thought and watched as Jak's limp body was dragged to the chair and strapped in. Jak had physically changed as well, but only slightly. That is, he'd grown a goatee and put on a bit more muscle. He didn't look like a kid anymore. Alex chuckled at this thought, wondering if he still looked like a kid now. The Dark Eco had made his base strength greater, at any rate.

When they were ready, the Baron suddenly called out, "Double the time." Erol nodded and walked down to the controls while the Krimzon Guards left. Erol pressed a few buttons, and then walked back up to the main platform.

"_Commencing Dark Eco injection cycle."_

Alexander grimaced and looked away as the machine pumped Dark Eco into Jak's body. The pain he had suffered was still fresh in his mind, and he hated to think about it. It had been a traumatizing experience, and it was a wonder that he could've played the game all that time and not have understood that.

The injection wore on, and Alex started to think about the game, Jak II. His memories were rather fresh since his reawakening, but it couldn't possibly be perfect at this moment. There was little doubt that living it out would jog his memory, though. It had been two years, but now he was back to doing what he did best: Being the Interference.

At long last, the automated voice said, _"Dark Eco injection cycle complete. Bio readings nominal and unchanged."_ Alex turned his head back to watch the proceedings.

Baron Praxis, who'd been pacing back and forth impatiently, muttered, "Feh. _Nothing_. I was informed that this one might be **different**!!"

To Alex's mild surprise, Erol wasn't smirking as usual. "They are both surprisingly resistant to your 'experiments,' Baron Praxis. I fear the Dark Warrior Program has failed."

Baron looked down into the abyss below contemplatively, but then turned toward Jak and grabbed his hair. "Aaaarrgh! You should at least be _dead_ with all the Dark Eco I've pumped into you!" Jak didn't react to this much, being disoriented and on the verge of unconsciousness.

As the Baron let go and moved to the edge again, Erol quickly demanded, "What now? Metal Head armies are pressing their attacks. Without a new weapon, my men cannot hold them off forever!"

The Baron slowly turned around, angry as hell. "...I will _not_ be remembered as the man who lost this city to those vile **creatures**!!" Advancing on Erol, he shouted, "Move forward with the final plan! And finish off this... _thing_ tonight!"

As the Baron walked away, Erol stepped aside and said, "As you wish." Grinning and leaning in toward Jak, he quietly said, "I'll be back later."

The Baron and Erol slowly walked out of the room. A few moments went by in silence once they were gone, and Alex was about to come out of his hiding place when a voice made him freeze.

"Ding-ding! Third floor. Body chains, roach food, torture devices!" a miniature floating platform rose up from the abyss below, carrying a two foot tall, orange-furred animal. The creature threw a small package onto the platform and jumped onto Jak's body.

"Hey, buddy..." the animal said somewhat jokingly, "you seen any heroes around here?" He then got a good look at the person he was standing on, and shouted, "**Woah**! What'd they do to _you_!?"

But he got no reply for his antics. Jak was out of it. The Ottsel stood on Jak's chest and looked down at his friend worriedly. "Jak... it's me! Daxter!" Jak seemed to open his eyes slightly and look at him, but he then closed them again.

Daxter scowled. "That's a fine hello! I've been crawling around in this place, risking my _tail_," he said, stepping on Jak's stomach rather painfully by accident, "_literally_, to save you! I've been looking for you for **two years**!! Say something! Just this _once_!!"

All of a sudden, Jak opened his eyes wide and shouted, "I'm gonna _kill_ Praxis!"

Daxter placed a hand on Jak's mouth, shushing him. "Right now we gotta get you outta here," he said quietly. He jumped over to one of the cuffs keeping Jak down, and muttered, "Just let me figure out how to open the security locks for your chair, so I..."

Jak groaned, and then grunted loudly as his skin turned purple, his eyes went to a complete black, his hair went white, and his nails lengthened to sharp claws. Daxter quickly jumped off as Jak broke off the locks with the sheer strength of his Dark form. Daxter grimaced as one of the broken locks rolled by him. "Or, uh... _you_ could do it."

Dark Jak stumbled onto his feet and looked over at Daxter menacingly, his body sparking with Dark Eco. Daxter panicked as Dark Jak approached and said, "Jak? Easy now... Easy, buddy. It's... It's your old pal Daxter, remember!?"

Daxter cowered as Dark Jak started to swing a claw at him, but he then stopped in mid swing and lost his rage. "...Daxter?" Jak groaned as his body reverted to normal. He stumbled as he regained his normal form.

"_What_ the _heck_ was _that_!?" Daxter demanded angrily. "Sheesh! Remind me not to piss **you** off!" He walked around Jak and gestured toward the bridge leading out. "Come on, 'tall, dark, and gruesome.' We're outta here." Daxter jumped onto Jak's left shoulder and pointed down at the package he'd dropped onto the platform. "I, uh, brought you some new threads. Put 'em on."

Alexander looked away as Jak stopped to change his outfit. He already knew what it looked like anyway. A blue tunic, a red scarf, blue flared fingerless gloves, and brown boots. Then there were goggles on his forehead, and then a leather pouch on his back connected to three straps wrapping around to a metal ring on his chest. There was also a leather belt around his waist with a small pocket on his left, and a metal shoulder pad on his left shoulder where Daxter stood.

When Alexander heard walking again, he looked down to see Jak walking off the torture platform, looking around. Deciding that now was as good a time as any, he jumped down from the ledge he was on, landing right in front of the ground floor cells.

Naturally, this surprised Jak and Daxter. Jak jumped back a bit and took a defensive stance, and Daxter said, "Woah! Who the heck are you?"

Alex quickly raised his hands to indicate that he wasn't going to attack them. "Calm down. I'm a prisoner here. I'm getting out of here too."

Jak nodded and dropped his stance a little. Daxter said, "Looks like we're in the same boat, then. Got any ideas?"

Alex had more than just ideas. He looked toward the left side of the prison area. There was a space where there was no cells, and there were a bunch of large crates stacked together right below a very large ventilation duct. He stepped toward it and pointed. "That's probably our best bet right there." He looked toward the protagonists and said, "I'm Alexander."

Daxter nodded and smirked. "Alright, Alex. I'm Daxter, and this is my _sidekick_ Jak." Jak glared up at Daxter for this, but he quickly rolled his eyes and dropped the glare.

Jak started walking toward the crates, and Alexander hesitantly followed. It was a short walk, but Alex used the short time to put a little bit of thought toward how he was going to handle being around protagonists again. After all, it had been more than one conscious year since he'd...

Oh, wait. He'd been technically hanging out with Torn, Praxis, Ashelin, and all of those people for that year. He didn't need to get very nervous about being with two more of the game's characters, did he?

Jak reached the crates and stared up at them for a moment, as if in contemplation. Daxter looked at him, rolled his eyes a bit, and asked, "Do you remember how to _jump_?"

The protagonist grinned and leaped up toward the crate, and then somehow did another jump in midair to clear it entirely. As he landed with both feet on the crate, Alex found himself incredibly surprised. He himself was guilty of using the double jump with his High Jump and Aerial Dodge abilities combined, but the real thing was just weird-looking in reality! No one else did that!

By this point, Jak and Daxter had reached the vent itself, and they were looking down at him. "Are you comin'?" Daxter asked.

Alex scowled at him, but then smirked a bit. He bent his knees a bit, and then used a High Jump to clear the crates and land on the top, right in front of the vent. He recovered from the landing and grinned at them, but they were already walking through the large vent.

"So you can jump high," Daxter responded, sensing Alex's lack of attention. "Big deal! Been there, done that, buddy." He then looked toward Jak and muttered, "_Please_ tell me you remember how to roll."

The vent took a right turn rather quickly, and there was an exit of the vent that was above the floor of a hallway. Jak jumped through the vent entrance and landed on the floor beneath it, but then an automatic voice declared, _"Alert. Prisoner escape in progress."_

An alarm began to sound off repeatedly. "Here we go again..." Alex muttered as he peeked out from the vent's entrance. He saw Jak looking at the doors on both ends of the hallway, seeing that they were sealed shut already. Alex looked up and to the left, noticing another vent on top of a wide ledge. "Up here!" he said, jumping across from the vent to the ledge.

Jak noticed his movements and found another stack of crates to get up to the ledge Alex was on. There was then a higher ledge that Jak used a double jump to grab and climb. Alex simply used a High Jump, though he nearly crashed into the ceiling with it. It was a rather sobering moment for him.

Jak and Alexander climbed through the vent to the left, which brought them into what appeared to be a maintenance passage. Granted, it was a very large room with moving platforms, a seemingly bottomless pit, and very high ledges.

"Hey, look!" Daxter said, pointing toward one of the pillars embedded in the right wall. There were a couple of red crates near it. "There are lots of Krimzon Guard crates lying around for the taking. Break that crate!"

The taller of the two smirked and stepped toward the crates, and then used a spinning kick to break both crates in one shot. A black and green box popped out of one crate's remains, but a few violet-colored amorphous floating blobs appeared in out of the second one. The violet energy immediately floated toward Jak, merged with his body with violet sparks, and disappeared.

Alex and Jak were startled by the behavior of the Dark Eco, but Daxter was more concerned about the green box. "Good job! That crate had a Health Pack inside! Pick it up! You'll wanna keep healthy, Jak, or, uh... who'll do the fighting?"

"And there will be plenty of fighting," Alex muttered as Jak touched the Health Pack. It dissipated and Green Eco floated through the air to merge with his body. Granted, Alex felt that they probably both needed it, since they were both fresh off the injection chair.

To the left, there were some moving platforms being swung back and forth, one gradually higher than the other. Jak led the way in jumping from platform to platform, and Alex followed reluctantly. He actually hadn't done much platforming before; this was his first experience in it. But he did have to thank the Kingdom Hearts universe for helping him to deal with his acrophobia, or else the bottomless pit below would've terrified him.

"_You are in a restricted sector. This sector is on high alert,"_ the automated female voice reminded them calmly.

After jumping to a much higher platform and then jumping across to stable ground, they found themselves below a very high ledge. Jak crouched a bit and then leaped up to grab the ledge, while Alexander used a High Jump to reach the ledge and pull himself up as well.

They were then at a narrower path that made an immediate right turn, passing some control panels that were flashing many-colored lights. As soon as they turned, though, they noticed a red figure right before the next ledge.

Daxter pointed. "_Guards_, Jak! Do your, uh, stuff."

Unfortunately, Daxter's first exclamation caught the guard's attention, and they immediately lost the element of surprise as the guard started rushing toward them. Jak immediately dashed forward before Alex could do anything, and he swung at the guard with a right hook. The guard went flying back a bit only to collapse against the ledge behind him, and Jak got him again with another punch. The guard then evaporated into purple energy.

This shocked Alex immensely. That kind of strength was incredible! Two punches were enough to _take out_ a stock Krimzon Guard! Not even the Metal Heads were so efficient! This was absolutely astounding!

It almost made Alex forget his own fighting abilities, but he quickly became determined not to go unnoticed by these guys. Especially if he was going to remain close to them throughout the coming adventure.

They climbed up the short ledge ahead of them, and another platform moving horizontally back and forth spanned the distance to the next path. At the edge of the next section of stable ground, there was a guard waiting for them. Alex dashed forward a bit with a Quick Run to get past Jak, and he then leaped toward the guard. He held out his hand, which became covered in black smoke. When the smoke cleared, there was a sharp-edged shield in his hand.

Alex came down on the guard with a slash across the chest, and followed up with a backhanded slash as he landed. To finish the guard off, he spun around and whacked the guard aside with the shield's face. The guard collapsed and dissipated.

It was then that Alexander noticed that his shield was not in a form he was expecting. It was completely made of an orange metal, with a design that looked something like a yin-yang symbol, except that the points on either end of the shield extended beyond the radius of the shield to form a tooth-like edge on both sides.

As Alex looked at this new Lockshield with a confused expression, Jak and Daxter jumped over to him and stared at him with surprise. "Woah!" Daxter said, expressing enough surprise for his partner as well. "How'd you get that?"

Alex wasn't sure how to explain the Lockshield right off the bat, so he just said, "Well, I've... been able to do this for quite a while. It's kind of my thing."

Daxter nodded, and he and Jak started to move on. Alex stared down at his new Lockshield some more before finally following. Where had this design come from? Was it from the fact that he'd been experimented on with Dark Eco? That seemed likely. No doubt that it would've affected his heart greatly.

"The Seal of Mar..." he muttered, stating the first name that came to mind as usual. He nodded to himself, and then dismissed the Lockshield.

The path took another right along the wall and came to a dead end. There was a gap and then a much higher ledge. There was a metal pole sticking out of the wall between the two ledges, though. Jak leaped forward and grabbed the pole, and then started swinging back and forth before he got enough momentum to launch himself up to the next ledge.

Alex made a mental estimate of the distance, and then used a High Jump and then an Aerial Dodge to clear the distance. The duo in front of him gave him a glare (perhaps for how cheap he was being) but then started leading the way again.

The path made yet another right turn and came to what appeared to be a dead end, with a platform moving forward and backward just beyond the ledge. As Jak jumped onto the moving platform, the automatic voice stated, _"Surrender yourself. You are under arrest."_

Jak looked to the left, and gestured to Alexander. Just around the corner of the wall was another path. Alex jumped onto the moving platform, and Jak jumped onto the new path. This path was walled on all sides, taking it out of the bottomless pit territory. There was a pit lining the left side of the floor for a distance along the path, and there were a couple of Krimzon Guards.

Jak quickly slammed a boot into the side of one KG before he could respond, and then knocked him down into the pit below. The other guard rushed toward him, but Alex had gotten within sight of them at that point. Alex internally switched his Lockshield's design, felt the magic power flow into him again, and called out, "_Thundaga_!"

A large bolt of lightning came out of nowhere and zapped the Krimzon Guard just as he was about to attack Jak. Astonished, Jak and Daxter looked back at Alex, who was just beginning to catch up.

"Huh... Wha...?" Daxter mumbled incredulously. "Did _**you**_ do that!?"

Alex smirked. "I have a few tricks up my sleeves. It's somewhat complicated, but all you really need to know is that I have a few magic spells."

Daxter didn't look convinced. "Magic," he echoed dully. "Whatever... Let's just keep going."

Further down along the path, there was a large gap spanning the path. Jak backed up a little bit, got a running start, rolled forward, and then leaped forward in a spin to clear the entire gap in one bound. Alex wasn't so comfortable with rolling, so he went with the standard leap of faith, running quickly and jumping across. His landing wasn't so smooth.

The hallway turned to the left, where there was another long gap to clear, and it turned left again after that. Up ahead there was a hallway lit red, with grating as the floor through which you could see the floor below. There were Krimzon Guards down there, chatting.

"Wait a minute," Alex heard one guard say as they walked along toward the grating. "I think..."

"Crap," Alex muttered, remembering what happened at this point in the proceedings. "Run!" He started to run across the grating, and Jak followed.

"There they are!" one guard cried out. Immediately, all of the many guards below started firing shots through the grating, trying to hit them as they ran across. This only made the running heroes panic more, and Daxter cried out a little bit as some of the shots came too close.

But many of the shots impacted the grating and didn't get through, and those that did get through were rather wildly shot. It was entirely possible that they couldn't see them clearly through the grating. One way or another, Alex, Jak, and Daxter managed to cross the winding hallway without injury. Once they had cleared the grating, they were faced with a dead end with a flimsy metal hatch in the center.

Daxter pointed at the hatch. "If you jump and dive, you'll crash down to the ground hard enough to break lots of things! Breaking stuff's fun, right?"

Jak rolled his eyes, but used a jump to get above the hatch, spun forward, and crashed through the hatch with his palms first, breaking through the hatch like it was nothing at all. Alex hopped down to the floor below and saw that Jak was already moving on ahead. They crossed a narrow bridge with machines working on both sides of them, and the path took a left from there.

There was a small gap between their current ground and the next path, which was a dead-end hallway. The hallway curved to the left, and they saw a couple of guards standing guard over another hatch.

"You goin' to the city races this time?" one of the guards asked the other.

The other guard nodded. "I'll be there!"

The first guard groaned a bit. "Ugh... I've been on duty for two days straight..." he muttered.

"Don't complain," the second guard argued. "I've got _sewer_ patrol next week."

"Ah, you poor bastard," the first guard replied, shaking his head. "Which Commander did you piss off?" There was a bit of a pause as the first guard seemed to pay attention to something else, and he then said, "I just got a radio alert. Stay frosty!"

"_Slash_!"

A white blade of energy arced toward the two guards and sliced through them, making them disappear into violet energy simultaneously. Alexander stood a few yards away with the Time Fracture Lockshield in hand, with Jak and Daxter looking from just around the corner.

"You're just full o' surprises, ain't ya?" Daxter muttered, visibly unimpressed.

Alex looked back at them with a bit of confusion. "Is that a problem?" he couldn't help but ask.

But he was met with glares from both Jak and Daxter. "Sorta," Daxter responded. "Appreciate ya helping us out, but... y'know, it's a bit uncomfortable not knowin' much about who you're workin' with."

Alexander thought about that a moment, but then found another cop-out. He shrugged and said, "Well, you gotta get used to that around here. I won't be the first one you'll have to deal with, I bet."

Jak's glare only became more intense, but Alex decided to ignore it as he walked toward the hatch. He paused as he actually came to it, not quite familiar with the concept of diving into something. He tapped it a bit with his foot, and found it to be pretty flimsy. He didn't want to try using alchemy just yet, so Alex simply jumped up and stomped down on it.

He hadn't been expecting it to be as flimsy as it turned out to be. The hatch cracked and gave way instantly under the pressure, and Alex felt himself tumbling down to the shaft below, which was a smoothed downward ramp leading into a damp storage room of some sort. Alex came tumbling out of the shaft and landed into the deep water below. It came up to nearly his chin as the toe of his boot found the floor.

Jak soon came through the shaft as well, but he used a double jump as he came out of the shaft to land on the metal platform just ahead of Alexander. Alex swam over to them and joined them, with his garments started to dry off quickly by themselves.

"_There is no escape,"_ the automatic voice reminded them.

This did nothing to Alexander's psyche. He remembered quite clearly that they were very, very close to their escape now. Alex looked up to the right as he dried off and said, "Over here." He started climbing up the crates, and Jak and Daxter followed suit.

They reached a ledge overlooking the room, and then used a crate to get up to another smaller ledge above them. The small ledge was right in front of one of the Fortress's security doors, which automatically began to open as they approached. Just beyond the door was a long drop into the Slums below, and out into the fresh night air.

Jak pushed past Alexander roughly and jumped out first, and Alex wasn't slow to recover and jump out as well. They landed on the rough gravel right next to the Fortress's wall, and the sounds of alarm ceased.

"_Yeeaaah_!" Daxter cried out triumphantly. "We're free, Jak, thanks to me!" He smiled down at Jak and said, "Nice to breath some fresh air, huh? We'll get that Baron Praxis guy, alright!"

Alexander took a deep breath. It was Slums air, but at least it wasn't Fortress air. And the night brought on a refreshing coolness to it that relieved Alexander to no end. He was now free. He was no longer on the Baron's leash, for the first time since he'd arrived in this world.

Now it was time to pay him, Even, and Erol back for everything they'd done to him.

In the middle of his reverie, Alex hadn't noticed that Jak had already gone walking ahead, looking around at the buildings. Alex vaguely remembered that this was the first time Jak had even seen the city, and realized that this was another big moment in the game.

It was strange, having to get used to the whole Interference thing all over again.

As Jak and Daxter walked on while Alex slowly caught up, they came across an old man and a young kid in the street. The old man was wearing a blue robe and walked with the aid of a staff, and he had long white hair growing mostly along the sides of his face. The young kid next to him was a green-haired child wearing a blue tunic.

The old man stepped into Jak's path and quickly said, "Hello, strangers." Jak tried to walk by him, but the old man pulled on his arm to stop him. As he got to Jak's front, he said, "My name is Kor. May I help...?"

Jak chose that moment to begin speaking again. "You look like a reasonably smart man," he remarked coldly, advancing on him. Roughly placing a hand on Kor's shoulder, he growled, "I want information. Where the _hell_ am I?"

Daxter jumped off Jak's shoulder with an awkward look and glanced at the kid. "Uh, sorry... He's kinda new to the whole 'conversation' thing."

Kor recovered his composure and brushed off his shoulder. "Well, my angry young friend, you are a _guest_ of _His Majesty_ Baron Praxis, the ruler of _glorious_ Haven City." There was no end to the sarcasm dripping off his words.

"I was just a _guest_ in the good Baron's prison," Jak replied, matching sarcasm with sarcasm.

Alex noticed this conversation and chose that moment to step in. "Both of us. Hell, we had the same special treatment." This earned a meaningful look from Jak, which was what he was aiming for.

"Inside a cell or inside the city," Kor responded angrily, "walls surround us both. We are all his prisoners."

At that moment, some figures began to approach them from behind Kor, who noticed this and turned around to look. A deep worry overtook his entire composure. "Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time..." he muttered as a group of Krimzon Guards walked toward them. "I-I'd move on if I were you." He and the kid proceeded to get behind Jak and Alexander.

"By order of his eminence," the leading KG declared, "the Grand Protector of Haven City, Baron Praxis, everyone in this section is hereby under arrest for suspicion of harboring Underground fugitives. Surrender and die!"

Alex raised an eyebrow at this. He never remembered having to say all of that crap a year ago. The "Surrender and die" part seemed like an error to him as well.

Daxter also caught onto this. He meekly walked to the guard and said, "Aaah, excuse me, sir... Don't you mean 'surrender... _**or**_ die'!?"

"Not in this city!" Kor hastily responded, spreading out his arms to shield the child behind him. "Protect us from these guards, and I'll introduce you to someone who can help you!"

Alexander smirked. That sounded like a mission objective to him. He stared at the guards, who were beginning to realize that this wasn't going to be an easy walk-over job. After a moment, he decided to withhold the Lockshield for the moment and brush up on his hand-to-hand skills. After all, these were just stock Krimzon Guards.

Jak rushed forward and slammed a kick into one of the Krimzon Guards, and then punched a second one. Alexander came in as well, kicking one of the guards as he closed in and following up with a punch across the face and another in the gut. There was the armor to worry about, but Alexander's strength was not that of the kid he'd once been. The guard felt it, and Alex was able to take out the guard with another punch.

Jak made short work of one of the guards, taking him out of the picture, but the one remaining guard pointed his rifle at Alexander and pulled the trigger. A short burst of electrical energy shot out of the rifle and struck Alex, shocking him for about a second. Jak saw this, and quickly came in to punch the last bit of life out of the attacking Krimzon Guard.

But with that one shock, every similar experience Alexander had gone through involving electrical torture was brought sharply back to the forefront of his mind, enraging him. It reminded him of how much the KG and Even had to answer for, and the all-consuming rage returned.

Alexander felt the darkness overpower him, but it was much quicker this time. Because of his magicked garments, the Anti Form was able to spread much quicker and more completely, turning him into the Dark Eco-powered, pitch-black, yellow-eyed monster in very little time at all.

Similarly, the fighting had gotten Jak worked up as well, who also had a full charge of Dark Eco within him. Jak turned into his Dark form as a Krimzon Guard carrier floated down into the alley to drop more troops. Many, many troops started to pour out of the carrier, each aiming their rifles at the potential enemies.

They were in for a shock. Both Anti Alexander and Dark Jak dashed forward and sliced through a couple of the guards with their claws, and spared no time in getting to the next target from there.

One of the guards, terrified, shouted, "Shoot those things! Shoot! _Shoot_!!" Dark Jak heard this order and quickly dashed over to the guard in question, silencing him quickly.

For both dark creatures, the Dark Eco charging their bodies reached out to whatever tried to touch them, and the Krimzon Guards were too slow to learn that melee attacks on the two would only end up giving them a shock of Dark Eco.

Anti Alexander was sure that something had hit him during the fight, like a rifle shot, but the darkness was acting as a defensive boost as well. That was strange, since Anti Form was supposed to be more about attack and speed in exchange... But there was only one rational part of Alex's mind that was considering that detail at that moment.

Soon, all of the guards had dissipated into Eco, leaving the alleyway clear. All of the civilians had run away screaming, and the carrier quickly flew away in retreat.

Alex, sensing that the enemies were gone, quickly tried to regain control. His sight was extremely blurry, and his other senses were dulled as well. The only thing guiding him was a certain animal instinct, into which his rational mind couldn't penetrate unless he wasn't really moving. Alex shuddered and brought his claws up to his face as he struggled to fight back the urges, and slowly the darkness faded away from his body.

Jak underwent a similar reversion to his old form. Daxter, slack-jawed at the awesome display of power, walked over to Jak and said, "That was _cool_! Do it again!"

The protagonist, still twitching a bit from the recent ordeal, groaned, "Something's... happening to me... Something he did... I... can't... control it."

On the other side of the street, Alexander had fallen to his knees, facing a rather strange calm. Once again, he felt emotionally spent and empty. All he said was, "So it had worked..."

Kor regarded the two of them for a moment, and then stroked his chin. "Very impressive..."

Jak slowly regained his composure, and Daxter looked worriedly up at his friend. "Uh... you okay, Jak?"

As Alexander rejoined Jak and Daxter, Kor said, "What you just did was very brave. This child," he added, gesturing toward the kid, "is important."

Daxter walked over to the kid, who cowered a bit as he got close. "_This_ kid?!" the Ottsel asked. "He looks kinda scruffy."

After a moment, a Hellcat cruiser flew into the air above them and tilted to the side so that the KG driver could look at them. "You are in a restricted zone," the driver said using a loudspeaker. "Move along!" The cruiser then flew away.

Kor watched the Hellcat for a moment, and then looked back at the protagonists. "Thank you for your help, but I must get this child to safety."

Daxter quickly objected. "Hey!" he shouted. "What about **us**!?"

"There's an Underground group," Kor explained, "waging war against Baron Praxis. Its leader, the Shadow, could use fighters like you. Go to the Slums. Find a dead-end alley near the city wall. Ask for Torn." He started to walk away. "He can help you."

Kor and the kid began to move away. But just before they turned away for good, Alex could've sworn that the kid had looked at him directly and waved at him. But maybe he'd just been waving to all of them... All the same, Alex knew the significance of the kid, but chose not to dwell on it.

"The Shadow," Jak repeated. "Underground..." He looked toward Alexander and said, "Sounds like that's our first place to start."

Daxter looked up at Jak. "Wait, this guy's comin' with us?"

Alexander looked a little surprised as well, but decided not to turn away the opportunity. "We do have a common motivation against the Baron. And the fact is that we'd make a pretty good team. You're a lot stronger than I am, but I've got a few more tricks at my disposal."

The Ottsel thought about it for a moment, but then said, "Oh, alright. But let's lay down a few ground rules!" He jumped up to Jak's shoulder and said, "The order of priority shall henceforth go like this: Me, me, Jak, and you! We're the heroes here, and you're the sidekick!"

Alexander was ready to take offense to that. He'd been through many adventures, and was worth being labeled as a hero. "Are you serious?" he asked.

Daxter shrugged and settled down on Jak's shoulder. "Nah. C'mon, let's get moving. I don't wanna sit around here all night speakin' for everybody." After a moment, he said, "I was just givin' ya a hard time."

Jak chuckled. "There's a surprise."

Alexander sighed, and joined Jak and Daxter as they set off into the streets of Haven City. After two long years, the adventure was finally getting underway.

* * *

**Disclaimer: Alexander, Joumae, the Lockshield, the overall concept of The Interference, and related concepts and characters are the intellectual property of Newbie-Spud. _Kingdom Hearts_, _Fullmetal Alchemist_, and _Chrono Trigger_ and their characters and concepts belong to Square-Enix and its business partners. _Jak and Daxter_ and related concepts and characters are the property of Naughty Dog, Inc.**


	9. Stranger No Longer

Chapter 8  
Stranger No Longer

"Hey, look over there," Daxter said as they walked through the streets. He pointed toward a yellow-colored light-single Zoomer. Jak nodded and jumped onto the vehicle. After a couple moments of fiddling, puffs of smoke popped out of the exhausts as the Zoomer came to life.

Suddenly, a black metal camera-like object with a bright orange lens floated up from the back of Jak's belt and looked at Jak. _"Welcome to the city transportation system,"_ an automated female voice greeted him.

Daxter grinned. "Sweet! I didn't know there was a communicator in those clothes!"

Alexander rolled his eyes as he approached the Zoomer. "Convenient."

"_You can hover in two zones: low and high,"_ the voice continued to inform them. It moved around Jak and stopped facing a lever on the Zoomer. _"Try switching hover zones."_

Jak lifted the lever, and the Zoomer very quickly ascended to the level that the other Zoomers were slowly flying at. _"Switching hover zones may help you avoid traffic and ground obstacles."_

The communicator then moved to the front of the Zoomer and changed shape, expanding into a small disc with a screen. On it was a GPS-style map of their current position, with dots indicating KG patrols and stationary vehicles. On the edge of the map was a symbol like a cutlass. _"Follow the icons on the map to reach important destinations."_

By that point, Alexander had used a High Jump to steal a passing light-single Zoomer and was then coming to a stop beside Jak and Daxter. Glancing at the map, he sighed and said, "Even more convenient."

"What's wrong with convenient?" Daxter asked as Jak put the Zoomer into motion.

Jak led the way with Alexander close behind, making sharp turns through the asymmetrical streets of the Slums. Both of them were gunning the throttle, weaving through traffic faster than the rest of the crowd. A Krimzon Guard shouted angrily at them as they passed overhead, but no other encounter took place during the flight.

They reached a part where the traffic was clear for a while, so Alex took a look down at the people they were flying over. But then he saw something that shocked him. Walking next to a Krimzon Guard patrol was a group of Armored Knight Heartless.

There were Heartless in Haven City! Alex opened the throttle a little more on the Zoomer he was riding, but if the Heartless even detected him there was no reaction.

Finally, they reached a wide clearing of the Slums near the city wall, and at the other side was the entrance to a small alleyway. Alex came to a stop and dropped to the low hover zone before dismounting his Zoomer, whereas Jak simply jumped off at the top and landed next to him. The Zoomer slowly fell to the ground, smacking loudly against a building before reaching the low hover zone and coming to a stop. The Zoomer was a bit crumpled and smoking.

Alex glared at Jak for his recklessness, but Jak simply smirked and shrugged before leading the way into the back alley.

As they entered the shadows cast by the city lights, a blue-eyed blond woman wearing a revealing green jacket and cut-off jeans stepped into their path rather imposingly. As she regarded the group with a stern gaze, Jak said, "We're lookin' for a guy named Torn. Kor sent us."

The woman gestured with her head at the man now approaching Jak. Alexander recognized him all too well as the ex-KG Commander he'd once considered a superior. In appearance, Torn hadn't changed much at all. He still wore some of his old KG outfit, except with a bit more armor than when he had appeared at Alexander's briefings.

Torn quickly got in Jak's face, studying him with a scowl. Jak lost a bit of the urgent tone in his voice as he said, "Um... Are you... Torn?"

When Torn's scowl was the only reply, Daxter leaned forward and helpfully said, "Maybe this guy's a mute, like... you used to be." Jak rolled his eyes at that.

Torn glared at Daxter, who promptly moved to Jak's back. Looking at Jak again, he poked Jak in the chest and growled, "New faces make me nervous." With a smirk, he continued, "Word is you're out to join the fight for the city."

Alexander rolled his eyes. "Is it?" he couldn't help but ask. "We've been out for barely even five minutes."

Torn dropped his smirk and glared at Alexander, regarding him closely. Alex simply stood still and stone-faced. For a moment, it seemed like something would happen, but Torn stepped back. "News gets around here quickly. Especially big news like you two."

"Oh, you're too kind!" Daxter said, his own smile appearing.

Torn grunted. "You know, picking the wrong side could be... _unhealthy_." At the last word, Torn moved in real close on Jak.

But if Jak was intimidated by this, it was difficult to tell. "We want to see the Shadow," he said, clearly wanting to cut through all this banter.

This amused Torn. "Not likely. If you want to join something," he added, turning away from them, "why don't you two and your _pet_ go join the circus?"

That comment angered Daxter, but Alexander took the initiative before any further remarks could be made. "I'm _hurt_, Torn," he said sarcastically. "You don't remember me? You don't remember... this?" And in a dramatic fashion, he slowly lifted his hand up, which was covered in a black aura. When the darkness faded, the Heartless Seal Lockshield was displaying its design proudly to Torn in Alex's hand.

Torn turned back to see this, and his demeanor changed in an instant. Recognition exploded onto his face as he looked between the shield and Alexander, back and forth several times. Then, finally, he stared into Alexander's eyes. "...Alex!" he blurted out.

"_Hold_ the _freakin'_ phone!" Daxter cried out, stomping over to them until he was between Alex and Torn, looking up at them. "Why the heck are you two on a first name basis?"

Alexander had a wide grin on his face. "Oh, we know each other. It's been a while, but..."

"A year!" Torn finished, still shocked by this revelation.

Jak looked confused for a moment, but then stepped forward. "Alright, so this means we can see the Shadow, right?"

"No way," Torn replied, quickly turning away from Alexander. "Joining the fight for the city isn't something to be taken lightly. Alexander here is more than qualified. You two..." Torn smirked. "Well, you're just _not_."

Jak scowled and took another step toward Torn, but the ex-KG Commander casually drew out the curved knife from his shoulder and said, "Unless you have the _fur_ for a really tough task." Looking up toward the city wall, he said, "Steal the Baron's banner from the top of the Ruined Tower and bring it back to me." With a smirk, he tossed the blade into the air and caught it. "Then, maybe we'll talk."

Daxter jumped onto Jak's shoulder with a frown on his furry face. "Oh, _sure_. While you two have your sappy reunion, **we** get a crap mission! Just _great_..."

Jak still looked angry, but there was now a bit of determination mixed with it. "Fine. You'll get that banner." He looked at Alexander and said, "Later," and then walked back toward the Zoomers.

It caught Alex off guard. "Oh... yeah," he said. "See ya." He internally scolded himself for being so awkward about it, but a motion to his right quickly took his mind off it.

Part of the wall had been spray-painted with the symbol of a hammer breaking the KG emblem. But the wall was moving toward the side, revealing a hidden doorway. "Alex," Torn said, standing near the moving wall. "Come inside."

Alex nodded, dismissed the Lockshield, and started walking toward it. The blond woman that had confronted them earlier walked to Alexander and smiled. "So you're Alex, huh? Nice to meet you. I'm Tess."

She held out a gloved hand to him, and Alex hesitated for a moment. This woman had seemed so imposing just a second before, but now she was being really nice. But he shook her hand and nodded, then walked through the doorway.

There was a small downward flight of steps, followed by another door that opened up vertically as Torn approached it. Alexander followed Torn into the room, with Tess close behind.

It was a large underground hideout. ...Which was fitting, all things considered. As they walked in, there were four sets of wooden bunk beds, two on each side. Then it opened up to the large room, where anti-KG posters were plastered all over the walls. There were broken-down Zoomers at the far sides of the room, along with tables and other various things on them. Torn walked over to the central table, where there were maps of the city and what seemed to be gun parts. To one side there was a metal fireplace helping to light the room, aided by the lamp swinging just a few feet above the central table.

Torn reached the table and turned back to Alexander with a grin on his face. "Good to hear you're back among us, Alexander. You're something of a legend around here."

Alex shrugged. "And I _wasn't_ back when we were both in the Guard? But hey, you're right, I'm back out in Haven City." He stepped closer to Torn. "And oh boy, it's changed. Since when are there Heartless working with the KG?"

This caught Torn by surprise. "Heartless?"

Alexander held up his hand and summoned the Heartless Seal Lockshield. He tapped the center of the shield, where the Heartless emblem was.

Torn looked where he pointed and was silent for a moment. "...I did notice that," he said at last.

"Oh, those black things?" Tess said, having walked over to them and quietly listened up until now. "The Baron calls those things Dark Warriors. He says they're the result of some kind of Program he was working on... and it was a breakthrough from Even."

A dark scowl was now set into Alex's expression. Even, the Heartless, the Dark Warrior Program... It was all he could do not to start muttering expletives. "Great... Taking credit for..." His voice trailed off into angry mutterings.

Torn simply looked at Alex. "But you know the truth."

Alex nodded, but then caught himself and looked back up at Torn. There was a certain... understanding he felt from the ex-Commander. "Hold it..."

Torn averted his eyes away from him. "I've spoken with Even. He's become one of the Baron's right-hand men. He confronted me one time, back when I was still personally taking missions." He paused. "He told me everything about you. It was an attempt to demoralize me, and it didn't work, but... I knew that it was the truth."

Alexander clenched his fists. For a year, he'd been the Heartless apprentice's little toy. But now he was finding out that the rest of the world had been toyed with as well. "So..." he said slowly, "I guess the cat's out of the bag." Glancing at Tess, he said, "Who else knows?"

Torn thought about it. "Very few people. Me, Tess, the Shadow... Ashelin. No one else. He might have told Erol and the Baron, but I doubt it. It's just us in the Underground." Torn looked back at Alexander. "So... these Heartless..."

Alex nodded. "Monsters from another world." He took a moment to adjust his footing. "Human life is made up of the body, soul, and heart. And I mean the proverbial heart, which is what holds our deepest values and emotions. When the heart becomes extremely dark in nature, or if it is forcefully ripped out by darkness, a Heartless is formed around that heart. The Heartless specialize in tearing out the hearts of others, and they come in many different varieties. I've fought them many, many, _many_ times before. They're routine for me, but they're always bad news for everyone."

Torn and Tess took in this information, and there was a small silence as they did so. Then Tess piped up with a question. "But why call them Dark Warriors? And what's the Dark Warrior Program?"

A wry smirk came to Alex's face. "_That's_ just a cover-up. Sort of. There was a real Dark Warrior Program before... that is, until the test subjects escaped from the Fortress. Ten minutes ago."

Understanding began to dawn on Torn's face. "And just what was this Program doing?"

Alexander closed his eyes for a moment. He thought back to the pain he underwent... the unending pain he had been forced to endure. Jak had gone through twice as much... He opened his eyes, and looked away from the two of them. "Injecting people with Dark Eco."

Tess gasped. "That's...!"

"That bastard!" Torn growled. "I'll bet Erol was all over _that_."

"Damn right he was," Alex agreed. "The Baron was thinking that there was a small chance that a person could be forced to channel Dark Eco. Jak, the person you sent away to get the banner, was exactly the kind of person they were looking for. But then I started showing off. Erol figured that since my abilities were generally dark in nature..."

Alex trailed off. The silence was palpable.

Then it was broken by Torn. "Is that why you look like us now?"

Alexander frowned and raised a hand to one of his elongated ears. He didn't like to think about the whole issue. "...More or less."

Torn paused for a moment. "...Hmph. My men told me that a couple of monsters had torn through all those guards. Didn't think for a moment that it was anything like _this_." Torn paused for a moment. "So this Jak guy is really special, huh?"

"Yeah," Alexander replied, turning back to face Torn. "But it gets even better. He's the _protagonist_ of the game. The events I've come to know all too well are starting to play out here and now. I was originally two years too early, but now the time has come."

Torn's eyes widened ever so slightly. "So, you mean..." As he trailed off, a grin spread on his face. "Good. Very good. Which means that you can start changing things for the better."

Alexander frowned a little. "Well, not exactly. I gotta be careful."

"No, Alexander," Torn quickly replied, shaking his head and walking over to him. "Whatever's gonna happen next, if you can make it happen quickly, you need to do it. We can't afford to just let these things play out. Not with Even running the show. You need to make as many changes as you can."

Alex was a bit taken aback. This was the exact opposite of everything he'd been told to do. He'd taken it for granted that he needed to be careful of what his actions might change, but he'd never been encouraged in such a way. But the way Torn said it... Alex couldn't find an argument if his life depended on it. Because, in this case, Torn was absolutely right. He needed to truly be an Interference.

Tess nodded and looked over at Alex. "Good luck," she said, turning around and walking toward the hideout's entrance.

"Be careful," Torn warned her as she left. He then looked at Alex and said, "Alright, let's see how our heroes are doing out there."

* * *

The Ruined Tower was in the middle of what was now Dead Town, Alexander's last battleground before he'd been captured. The place had really gone under, so to speak, in the year that he'd been gone. The water level was fairly high, leaving only a few patches of land around the buildings intact. And there was power running into the water, which meant that anyone who stepped in it would receive a painful shock. Creatures like Snaggle Teeth, Puffers, and the occasional Metal Head were constantly present all throughout the remains of the old town.

The Ruined Tower itself fit its description perfectly. An old tower of stone that had been hit hard during the attack and was now truly ruined in every sense. Whole sections of the outside of the tower threatened to crumble away if anyone so much as stepped on them.

Alexander and Torn found a spot of land a fair distance away from the Ruined Tower. The sun was high in the sky, and there weren't any monsters nearby.

The two of them watched the tower for a few moments. Even from there, they could see the Baron's banner standing proudly on the highest balcony of the tower, planted on a wooden platform overlooking the rest of Dead Town below.

Finally, they could see a figure walking toward the flag. Alex grinned at the sight. "Can't be anyone else," he remarked.

Jak wrenched the flagpole out of the platform beneath him and slammed it down proudly. But as soon as he did so, loud crumbling sounds could be heard from the entire tower.

"Uh-oh," Torn said.

The entire platform crumbled from beneath the feet of the two heroes, and they were sent plummeting to the water below. Daxter's constant, panicked screams were audible to Alex and Torn.

Fortunately, Jak and Daxter were caught by a shoddy awning that bounced them back up into the air and over a few buildings. From there, Jak managed to land perfectly on a cable which he began to grind along. Daxter landed on the same cable between his legs, pausing his screams for just a moment as he encountered sheer pain in the worst possible place before he was launched back up into the air.

After grinding along the cable for a little while, Jak crouched a little and then bounced off, sailing through the air before landing perfectly in front of Alexander and Torn, still holding the banner. A second later, Daxter bounced onto the ground next to him.

As Daxter groaned in pain, the Ruined Tower behind them finally gave up the ghost. The old stones that comprised it crumbled away in large chunks into the water below. In a few moments, the tower had been completely leveled.

All thanks to Jak and Daxter.

Torn's jaw dropped. "Yeah." Grinning, he said, "I guess you guys are in."

* * *

_Later, back at the Hideout..._

Daxter, completely confident now that they had been allowed into the Hideout, strutted across the room to a large water pipe. "Whew!" he said, making extravagant gestures in his show of pride. "Being a _big hero_ sure makes ya thirsty!" With the biggest grin on his face, he pulled the lever on the water pipe and opened up his mouth.

In any other situation, this would've been fine. Water pipes like that were placed all around the city for public use. Up in North Town, where Alex had lived for a little while, the pipes took the form of actual faucets and sinks. In the Slums it was a lot more crude, but it was still water.

But Alex knew better. And Torn _obviously_ knew better, if the evil grin on his face was any indication.

Alex winced as Daxter found himself swallowing a load of black sludge instead of water. Daxter quickly turned the lever back up and coughed up the black stuff, furiously wiping some off his tongue in order to get rid of the terrible taste of it.

Torn chuckled evilly at this, which earned him a glare from the Ottsel. "The Baron turned off all water to the Slums. He's willing to sacrifice innocent lives just to destroy the Underground!" Taking on a thoughtful look, Torn said, "I shouldn't be surprised. I've seen his evil before, while serving in the Krimzon Guard. That's why I quit."

Jak did a take. "_You_ were a _Krimzon Guard_?!" he exclaimed, completely taken off guard by this. But then the protagonist found himself holding back a laugh. "Heh. Uh, that explains your... _charming_ sense of humor."

Alex chuckled at this, but then let out a sigh and said, "Well, while we're on the subject, I think I should get something out of the way as well..."

Jak caught on quickly. "_Both_ of you!? Working for the Baron?"

"Oh," Daxter cut in with a roll of his eyes, "so _that's_ why Mr. Tough Guy has a soft spot for you."

"Hey," Alex muttered in a warning tone.

Torn took an opportunity to cut that tangent short and get back on track. "My friend in the Guard tells me the valve to turn the water back on is located _outside_ the city, at the Pumping Station."

"Outside the city?" Jak echoed. "What about the security walls?"

"What about the Metal Heads?!" Daxter added. "It ain't a pettin' zoo out there. Peeps be gettin' deep-sixed!"

Alex grimaced. "The security gates aren't a problem. They never, _ever_ are. The KG don't give a damn who goes in and out of those. Personally, I'm more worried about the Heartless."

"Heartless?" Jak repeated questioningly.

"Those black creatures with the KG," Alex replied. "People call them Dark Warriors, but they're really Heartless."

"Unfortunately," Torn interrupted, "that's the kind of thing you have to just deal with if you want to see the Shadow. Find the large drain pipe in the north wall. It'll take you outside the city to the Pumping Station. Get to the main valve and open it. If you survive, the Slums will be indebted to you." With a smirk, he added, "If not, maybe we'll have a touching moment of silence in your honor."

"I'd like to give him a 'touching moment'," Daxter muttered between gritted teeth.

"Just like old times," Alexander found himself saying, also unimpressed with Torn's attitude. This was the same kind of thing he had to deal with when he was in the KG... serving under Torn as well. With a shrug, Alex followed Jak and Daxter out the door.

* * *

The trio rode through the city air on Zoomers, headed toward the shambles that was the Water Slums. They rounded a corner in the Slums' streets, and they were presented with a straight path to the failing city section. Dark blue water underscored the old wood that stuck up from it to support the awkwardly bent bridges and shanties.

But the KG were still present, along with the Heartless that patrolled the bridges. It drove Alexander completely up the wall. Every few blocks there was another reminder of the challenges presented to him as the Interference.

There was a time where being the Interference might've been a pretty neat thing for Alexander. But he now considered those times naïve and childish. Being the Interference was truly challenging, especially in a world such as this. The Heartless apprentice Even had taken massive steps to make sure that the odds were raised against the heroes of the normal adventure, and it was Alexander's job to singlehandedly make sure that the odds were leveled again.

Of course, at his consistently rising level of power, Alexander was more than capable of leveling the odds, but-

A sudden stop occurred in both Alexander's thinking and vehicle as he accidentally smashed into the side of a KG Zoomer. The Krimzon Guard riding it was also shaken for a moment, but not long enough for all hell not to break loose.

"Oh, great!" Daxter called out as Jak flew toward the scene. "Good going, bud!"

A siren blared repeatedly over the entire city as the alert went on. "You're under arrest, kid!" the KG officer declared as he pulled his Zoomer back and prepared to fire at him. At the same time, two Crimson Jazz Heartless appeared on either side of the KG Zoomer.

Of course, Alexander was already flying away, with Jak and Daxter close behind him. There was no way he was going to stick around to fight! This was no normal Heartless battle he was facing, where the enemies would stop coming after a while. Here, the forces would be endless! He'd have to commit a genocide in order to rid them of the KG, and then there'd still be more Heartless!

So they started flying. Along the way to the drain pipe they were looking for, several Air Pirate Heartless appeared in their path in a blockade attempt, but Alexander simply switched to the low hover zone and flew under the wooden bridges. Jak and Daxter did a similar maneuver, but quickly moved back up to the high zone.

Finally, the large drain pipe Torn described was in sight. They dropped down to the wooden bridge connected to it and dismounted the Zoomers. There was a small security door in the middle of the pipe, which slowly began to unlock as they approached. But three Armored Knight Heartless warped into the area behind them as they waited for the door.

The fighters were quick to react. Jak rushed toward one of the Heartless on the side and slammed a fist into it, sending it staggering back. He followed up with a pirouette spinning kick, knocking the Armored Knight into the side of the pipe, before finally punching it in the head and defeating it. It faded away into darkness, leaving a couple of small orbs of Dark Eco that flew into Jak's body.

During all this, the other two Heartless attempted to swing their sword-arms at Jak, but Alexander rushed in with the Time Fracture Lockshield and blocked the strikes. Using his shield he forced the blades to the side, sending the two Heartless staggering on their stilts. With a quick Slash technique, Alexander sliced through them again and then followed up with a sweeping attack with the Lockshield's face that sent them out into the water. A few moments later, several small orbs of Dark Eco rose up from the water and flew into Alexander's body.

Alex scowled at the phenomenon. Apparently anything with life energy would drop Eco, even if it wasn't necessarily defined as a living creature.

The security door was open, and the trio ran through it. The siren behind them still blared out for a little while, but soon came to a halt. Daxter seemed partly impressed by this, and not fazed at all by having ridden on Jak's shoulder during the pirouette. The little Ottsel apparently possessed a strong stomach.

"So if we just run in here, we can turn off the alert?" Daxter asked curiously. The tone in Daxter's voice accentuated the strangeness of the concept.

Alexander chuckled as the security door behind them closed while the one ahead of them began to open. "More or less. Just losing them in the city works too, but this is a bit quicker. Can't fight 'em, though." But he forgot his mirth as he remembered the Heartless. "Good job back there," he congratulated Jak with a more serious tone.

Jak shrugged. "It's nothing I can't handle."

Daxter grinned at Alex. "Yeah, we've saved the world," he said in a mockingly casual tone. "Nothin' big."

But Jak seemed to come to a peculiar epiphany as he regarded Alex. "_You_ don't seem to be a rookie, either," he said, his tone slightly accusative.

Alexander's normal practice would be to set aside their suspicions nonchalantly, but a part of him decided to just have fun with these two. "Okay, so I've saved a few worlds in my own time. So what?"

Silence.

"Wait, what?" Daxter finally said. "Just who the heck are you?!"

Finally, the security door in front of them cracked open, revealing the Pumping Station area ahead of them. Grinning, Alexander replied, "One of the few people the Heartless fear," and started walking forward.

Jak quickly kept the pace as the two of them approached the large structure. It was a maze of metal platforms, water tanks, suction pumps, and pipes of various shapes and sizes. The whole structure took up a wide square of land and stretched high into the higher cliffs of the shallow island it was settled on.

Daxter tilted his head to the side. "We're supposed to find one valve in all that?"

"There's only one valve worth worrying about," Alex assured him. "Don't worry, we'll know it when we see it."

Daxter looked forward and let out a cry. "Ack! There's a Metal Head!"

Sure enough, standing just in front of a few alternating pumps was a Metal Head Grunt. Jak grinned and slammed his fist into his other open palm. "Time for us to get to work."

* * *

So they fought and climbed. Puffers, Snaggle Teeth, and a few Metal Heads stood in their way, but they all fell quickly to Jak and Alexander. All of them dropped some portion of Dark Eco, and they found even more in some Krimzon Guard crates lying around.

Then, all of a sudden...

"**RAAGH**!" "**GRAAAH**!" One after the other, the two fighters suddenly transformed into Dark Jak and Anti Alexander, tearing through the creatures with frightening speed, power, and ferocity.

But they didn't know that. They didn't see anything they did. For them, there was simply a rush of power that left as quickly as it came.

Alexander opened his eyes as the darkness faded from him, thoroughly shocked by the ordeal. "What the... What in the world was _that_!?" Alex demanded, standing on shaking legs and staring at his hands.

Jak took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. "I... I don't know. It was like... there wasn't any..."

"...control," Alex finished out of nowhere. They'd gone into their Dark Eco-enhanced forms automatically. The last time it had been induced by pure rage. But this time it had been caused by the Dark Eco they'd absorbed. Much like in the game, they had reached a cap on the amount of Dark Eco they could absorb. But, unlike the game, they had no choice but to enter their dark forms when that happened.

Daxter didn't seem to be in the mood for sarcasm now, clearly more concerned about his friend right now. "...How are we gonna keep going like this? If you guys keep on transforming randomly, who knows what'll happen!"

Alex scowled. Daxter was completely right. Unlike the game, they had absolutely no control over their forms when the Dark Eco took over. It was a completely... _feral_ process. No sophisticated cognition whatsoever. And Even would have no problem taking out an **animal**.

"Dammit," Alexander muttered. Even had strengthened them and weakened them at the same time. They were truly monsters now.

* * *

Having no choice but to put the ordeal behind them, they pressed onward. At long last, they reached a dead end, where a big pipe rested with a big round valve wheel sticking out.

Daxter jumped off and regarded the control. "Ah. _The valve_," he said, putting on a grin and his best suave voice. As Jak reached for it, Daxter held up a hand and said, "Allow me." The wheel was just his height, so he grabbed it on the side and lifted.

And went nowhere. He grabbed it with both hands from the front and turned. Still nothing. Groaning, he tried lifting from the side, using his feet and putting all of his scrawny little muscle into it.

Jak grinned and slammed down on the pipe, which shook the wheel just enough for it to start moving. And move it did, sending Daxter spinning around and around it with frightening speed. At the same time, the lid of a pipe above them popped open, sucking in air as the flow within it started moving again.

With the force from the wheel, Daxter was launched up into the pipe with a cry. Alex was almost content to watch, but as he followed Daxter's groans and cries as he traveled through the pipes, Alex remembered that he wasn't going to have a camera to follow Daxter's antics. "Come on!" he shouted as he started running back down.

Meanwhile, Daxter slammed painfully into every corner and junction as he was sucked through the pipe's path at high speed. So it continued for a few seconds, and by this point Daxter had taken quite a beating. Finally, near the front of the Pumping Station, Daxter came to a stop just before another smaller valve. Which was closed.

Daxter groaned, with pressure forcing him into a closed exit. "Jak... Help..." he let out in a strained, high-pitched voice, the pipe muffling his cry. "Jak... Help... Jak... please... help...!"

Finally, Alexander reached the valve control higher up the pipe and twisted it open. Daxter's head popped out of the pipe, though his body stopped his progress. He pulled forward again, and his chest and arms popped out. Daxter took in a deep breath, braced himself, and pushed on the sides of the pipe. The next thing he knew, he'd been violently thrown out of the pipe with rushing air following after him.

Alex closed the valve, and Jak knelt down toward Daxter's sprawled form. Jak grinned and opened his mouth to speak, but Daxter held up a hand.

"Don't say it," the Ottsel growled. "Don't even _chuckle_. Next time..." Daxter propped himself up and glared at Jak. "...**you** turn the valve." And, with that, he collapsed again.

* * *

**Disclaimer: Alexander, Joumae, the Lockshield, the overall concept of The Interference, and related concepts and characters are the intellectual property of Newbie-Spud. _Kingdom Hearts_, _Fullmetal Alchemist_, and _Chrono Trigger_ and their characters and concepts belong to Square-Enix and its business partners. _Jak and Daxter_ and related concepts and characters are the property of Naughty Dog, Inc.**


	10. Work and No Play

Chapter 9  
Work and No Play

Jak, Daxter, and Alexander got back into the city, through the crowded streets, and back to the sliding wall of the Hideout without any trouble at all. As the hidden doorway automatically opened, Daxter jumped off Jak's shoulder and said, "Y'know, that's pretty hard to get used to."

Alex smirked and nodded to himself. A giant, moving wall that always opened for you was difficult to take for granted.

In the center of the den, predictably, was Torn. He was pacing back and forth in front of the table, and he leaned over a map of the city as the adventurers approached. "The Slums' water is back on!" he declared excitedly. "I'd _love_ to see the heads roll when the Baron finds out!"

As amusing as the thought was for Alex, Jak soon brought things back down to earth. "Yeah, I'm sure he's losing _lots_ of sleep over this _armpit_ of the city," he growled angrily, glaring at Torn. "We've done what you've asked! Now when do we see the Shadow?"

Torn was quick to adapt. Looking back at Jak with scorn to match, he replied, "_When_ I say so, _if_ I say so."

"And I imagine," Daxter suddenly interrupted, "that goes just for us! But your boyfriend here can go and see the Shadow whenever he likes, can't he?"

"Daxter..." Alex growled.

Torn turned around and leaned against the table. "As a matter of fact, yes. He's already proven himself to be more than useful, as you might've already found out. But you two... not so much." He then shrugged and turned back to the map. "But... if he chooses to stay with you two, I won't go out of my way to bring him to the Shadow. Though I can't imagine why."

Alex fought hard to remain stonefaced under the glares of Jak and Daxter in tandem with Torn's comments. It was even more difficult not to roll his eyes – Alex knew Torn knew exactly why he was hanging around Jak and Daxter. They were the heroes. But Torn was insisting upon playing the tough guy.

Then again, that was nothing new.

"Before I even think about the Shadow," Torn started up again, motioning for the three of them to come to the map, "I want you to take care of an ammo dump we've ID'd in the Fortress. Lots of Krimzon Guards, plenty of Heartless, constant patrols. We _know_ it's–"

Alexander fought back a laugh and failed, cutting off Torn in the middle of his exposition. The ex-KG quickly turned to the Interference with a stern, reprimanding look. Alex simply smirked back at him. After a moment of staring, Torn said, "Care to tell me what's funny?"

Surprisingly, Daxter answered in Alex's stead. He jumped up to the table and said, "I think I know. It's because you're playing up this mission to be more difficult than it really is, isn't it? Compared to what we _could_ be doing, this is going to be a walk in the park."

The Interference sighed internally. For a second, he'd been worried that Daxter had figured out his indirect clairvoyance. Still, the Ottsel was close enough in his reasoning.

Torn looked even more pissed off for a second by the response, but somehow managed to calm himself down. "Fine. Better for you to think like that, anyway." He looked back at the map. "But this is no child play. You blow up all that ammo, and we'll deal a body blow to the Baron."

Daxter grimaced. "You're sending _us_ in, tough guy, so what's with this '**we'll** deal a body blow' stuff!"

"That's fine," Jak cut in. There was a smirk threatening to appear on his face. "I _want_ the Baron to know that it's **me** who's hurting him." With that said, he started to walk toward the entrance. "Let's go, guys."

Daxter walked off the table and followed, but not before giving Torn a snooty, disapproving look. Alexander remained for an extra moment, a realization forming in his mind from Jak's words. "Riiiight..." he said in a low voice to himself. "_I_ know it's coming, but Even doesn't..."

Alex grinned and turned toward the door.

* * *

The trio followed the mini-map on Jak's communicator to the Fortress's entrance. The big red building loomed over them ominously as they walked up the ramp to the armored door. Daxter was skeptical. "What, they gonna just let us walk in?"

As they neared the door, though, it opened automatically to let them in. Inside was a room Alex had seen several times before: the main lobby of the Fortress. There were several rows of control panels leading to a dimly lit hallway up ahead, but it was blocked by an electrical field created by two twin generators.

To the left was another pathway, but the more pressing issue was that there was a big, red _tank_ with a spiked steamroller idling in the center of the room. While Alex was expecting this to some extent, it caught him off guard after seeing this room before in the distant past.

Jak, upon first seeing the tank, immediately hid back behind the door for cover. But when the tank made no reaction at all as Alex strolled in, he too walked in warily. The tank certainly wasn't inactive; they could hear the engine running. But they walked right next to it without triggering an alarm or anything.

"That way," Daxter said helpfully, pointing off to the left path.

"Wait up," Alex said urgently. "Gotta take care of something first." He moved toward the side of the tank and regarded it for a moment. Then he clapped his hands and placed them on the metal. Almost instantly, green sparks traveled across the vehicle and enveloped it in a glow. When the glow faded, the sound of the engine had stopped, and the tank had been transformed into a tank-shaped lump of gray granite.

Jak and Daxter jumped back in surprise. "Woah woah _**woah**_!" Daxter exclaimed at the top of his lungs. "How the heck did you _do_ that!"

Alexander grinned, completely satisfied by their reactions. Sure, it was giving him away, but it was too appropriate! He held up his hands as he turned to them, saying, "A little trick called alchemy. It's a science where I can turn any non-living substance into any other substance."

"Man, that is..." Jak started, but trailed off as he seemed to notice something. He stepped forward and said, "And what are those?"

He pointed at Alexander's wrists, which had been partially exposed by Alex's lowered sleeves after he'd raised his hands. The deep, still-fresh scars were now plainly visible, even from Jak's distance.

Alex looked at where he was pointing, and his glee instantly evaporated as he was brought back to memories he'd been quick to suppress. He lowered his hands swiftly and said, "Nothing important. ...Not to what we're doing right now." He moved past Jak and walked into the open hallway.

As soon as he passed two electrical generators similar to the ones guarding the other path, an alarm went off. _"Unauthorized use of Fortress door. Activating security tank."_

Jak and Daxter looked around worriedly while Alexander stood completely still. But then the voice said, _"Unable to activate security tank. Alert status has been raised."_

"You know what this is?" Alex said suddenly. He pulled back one cuff and revealed the scars to Jak again. "This is another reason to get this done in any way possible."

A flanging sound occurred behind Alex as Soldier and Shadow Heartless appeared on the metal platforms overlooking a bottomless pit. In response, Jak assumed a battle stance while Alexander summoned the Heartless Seal Lockshield to his hands. "But I guess I'm not the only one trying to be clever," Alex muttered to himself as the enemies approached. He then lifted up his shield and intoned, "_Magnega_!"

A sphere of dark, magnetic energy warped into existence in the middle of the pack of Heartless, dragging them all into one clumped group. One of the Shadows dissipated instantly. While they were disoriented, Jak rushed in and thrust a fist into a bunch of the Soldiers, knocking them against the wall.

Alexander then cast Thundaga to blanket the whole area in lightning bolts, vaporizing the whole group of Heartless. He shook his head as the black smoke cleared, saying, "More of the same."

Jak flexed the fingers of his right hand. "These Heartless come in all shapes and sizes, huh? And some are stronger than others."

"Makes ya wonder why they don't just swarm us with the big ones," Daxter noted.

Jak and Daxter walked onto the metal pathway, and Alex started to follow after a moment. "Yeah, that's a good point..." the Interference muttered to himself.

* * *

What followed from there was a linear path guarded by a series of strange pitfalls and traps, like laser-guided turrets, moving platforms, and timed floor spikes. Krimzon Guards and Shadow Heartless littered the pathway in small groups at a time, no match for the group of invading heroes.

At the moment, the three of them were facing three alternating rows of floor spikes, the different timings of which allowed for a path of sorts through it. On the other side of the rising spikes stood two Krimzon Guards and three Shadow Heartless. As soon as the farthest row of spikes dropped, the Shadow Heartless dashed forward and pounced toward them.

Alexander tried to swing at the Shadows in midair, but his timing was off. Two of the Shadows latched onto his shoulders and started clawing at his back and face, pissing him off immensely. Meanwhile, Jak spun and punted the remaining Shadow back into the spikes to eventually get impaled.

Bringing himself to ignore the pain, Alexander grabbed the Shadows by their backs and tore them away from his body, and tossed them into the spikes just in time to get stabbed by a rising group of them. His face and back burned of deep claw wounds, and it took him a while to regain proper control of himself.

Jak used the timing of the spikes to maneuver through them toward the Krimzon Guards. The guards were ready for him, lifting up their rifles horizontally and thrusting them toward him in order to push him back to the spikes. But Jak was ready, double-jumping over them to land on the other side before roughly shoving them onto the spiked ground. The rising spikes stabbed through the red armor, and soon the Krimzon Guards had faded away.

Alexander used a High Jump and an Aerial Dodge to clear the spikes in one shot. As he rose to his full height, he looked at Jak for a moment, then averted his gaze and said, "I was a little early on that one..."

Jak didn't say anything, but merely continued leading the way along the path. As it turned out, the hallway made a right turn into a big square dead end section. But there was a metal grate in the middle of the floor, which led into a lower floor of the Fortress.

Naturally, one dive attack kept things moving along.

They were now facing a wide conveyor belt that led up to a bottomless pit with a stack of large metal crates on the other side. Every once in a while, a platform would slowly move by like so many they'd already encountered.

Jak waited until his hardened platforming senses indicated the perfect time to charge, and Alexander followed his lead. They ran through the conveyor belt, jumped onto the platform as it passed, and then leaped up onto the metal crates.

On top of the current crate was a box with the Krimzon Guard emblem on it. Alexander smashed it open with his Lockshield, revealing a Health Pack which Alex immediately absorbed. The Shadows had left him with damage he hadn't anticipated to suffer this early in the proceedings. Perhaps he was getting a bit too cocky...

The crates were easily taller than Jak, but a bit of climbing and High Jumping was enough to clear the stack, which conveniently led to a conveyor belt bathed in red light with a door at the other end.

As they passed through the door, Jak and Alexander were inspired to marvel at what they'd just stumbled into. Boxes and barrels of every kind were stacked not-so-neatly throughout the room, and large stacks of missiles were set up in the corners. In the middle of the room was a humongous missile sticking out of the floor with smaller missiles all around it. In short, they'd found the ammo dump.

Jak walked toward a barrel, and Daxter jumped off his friend's shoulder to stretch his little furry legs. The green-haired protagonist picked up something off the barrel, and Daxter grinned. "Cool!" he said, looking at the small, square, metal red chip. "We need those to get through city checkpoints!"

Alexander nodded to himself at this, but then realized something. After digging through his pockets for a bit, he pulled out his old KG communicator. Yen Sid had restored all of his old equipment and munny to him with his new garments. In the communicator, he had Red, Green, and Yellow passes. Everything to get you through the city. It would be good for Jak to find his own, but Alex was glad to know that there were at least _some_ perks to having been in Haven for two years.

A large banging noise interrupted everyone. After a moment of being on edge, Jak placed a finger to his mouth and shushed everyone. The three guys gathered around a thick metal grate and peered down into the floor below. In the room below, two Krimzon Guards were standing next to a rather huge pile of barrels. They were facing a large steel pipe, in which two Metal Head Grunts were poised and ready.

Between them were four Neoshadow Heartless.

"These barrels are the latest shipment of Eco," one Krimzon Guard said. "The Baron says take them and **get out**!"

In response to this hostility, the Metal Heads growled and took a few menacing steps toward them. The Krimzon Guards readied their rifles in return. But the Neoshadows took meaningful steps toward both groups, which eventually backed down.

All of them were confused, including Alexander. "Wait, what...?" he said in a low voice.

"Metal Heads _in the city_?" Jak mumbled. "Why are the guards giving them _Eco_...?"

Nearby, a security tank suddenly activated. The whirring sound as the twin turrets on top of the tank turned to aim at the three intruders alerted them to the immediate danger.

"Uh, Alex...?" Daxter started quietly. A red targeting reticle bathed the whole group in red light, and all of them started running. From his new position on Jak's shoulder, Daxter shouted, "It'd be nice if you could take care of _this_ one!"

Behind Alex, the targeting reticle followed them before stopping to fire. The resulting blasts of Eco destroyed a bunch of crates that had been in the way. "We need this one!" Alex said simply. "Lead it toward these things!" Alex indicated the large missile in the middle of the room.

"Oh, great!" Daxter yelled back as the tank began to aim again. "This is what Torn sent us to blow up, isn't it!"

"Let's do this, then!" Jak said. He dashed toward the side of the missile and led the targeting reticle toward his position. As the tank stopped to fire, Jak dashed out of the way. The blasts from the tank tore through several small missiles and caused several large explosions, but it also tore off a valve that had been connected to the side of the much larger missile. Pressurized smoke started to rise rapidly from the empty space, and an alarm went off.

With Jak hiding behind the missile, the tank then aimed at Alexander, who was standing near another valve. Predictably, the tank fired upon him and ended up taking out the second valve out of four stationed around the missile.

The tank continued to move around the missile, doing its best to fire upon the moving targets but failing. There were a couple of times where the tank failed to hit a valve, but such mistakes were soon corrected without either Jak or Alex getting shot.

Finally, the fourth valve was destroyed, and the room's lights changed to a warning red. _"Danger. Warhead detonation imminent. Evacuate immediately."_

A door in the back of the room opened up automatically, which led outside the Fortress into the streets of the Slums outside. Alexander and Jak immediately bolted for the door, and Daxter got on his own feet to hightail it out even faster.

The smoke was coming out fast enough to envelop the whole missile in seconds. They had little time left.

As they reached the doorway, Jak prepared to make one last flying leap out the door in the precious time they had. But the warhead chose that moment to explode, and the resulting force blew all three heroes out the doorway with a fireball right behind them.

Daxter and Jak bounced off a metal awning below, while Alex missed it completely and crashed headfirst into the ground a few feet away from the protagonists.

It took a while for Jak to regain his senses. As he propped himself up with his elbow, he winced as he felt something squirm underneath him. A few moments later, Daxter popped out from under Jak's backside, gasping for air.

"This place has too much excitement," Daxter decided, finally catching his breath. "We need to move back to the country!"

Jak smiled and shrugged, and then finally got off Daxter so that he was no longer sitting on him. Looking over at where Alex fell, he said, "Alex, you alright?"

No answer came. Daxter finally stood and rolled his eyes. "Wonderful."

* * *

It was a little while before the trio managed to get back to the Hideout with a stumbling Alexander in tow. The outsider's head injury – while softened by a quick casting of Curaga – was disorienting and caused him to move and act in a loopy fashion.

In the safety of the Hideout, Jak and Daxter confidently approached Torn, who had his back to them on the far side of the table. Daxter grinned and jumped onto the table, announcing, "The 'termination trio' has returned! One barbecued ammo dump served up hot!"

Torn, more focused on examining with his curved knife, simply rolled his eyes and said nothing.

Then Jak spoke up to change the subject. "We saw something odd while torching that ammo," he reported. "The Baron's guards were giving barrels full of _Eco_ to a group of Metal Heads!"

Torn looked over his shoulder in surprise. "Really?" This finally caused him to face the group properly. "The Shadow will be _very_ interested to hear that."

Alex, having been hanging on the side of a bunk bed until now, stepped forward at last. "No, it gets better," he said in a strained voice, a hand on the side of his head. "The Heartless were between them. Acting as a sort of... mediator."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jak asked him.

Torn scowled. "It means the Shadow will be _extremely_ interested to hear this."

"Y'know," Daxter interrupted, "so far, _your_ gigs have been easier than stealing **grass** from a sleeping yakow."

Alexander and Jak shook their heads disapprovingly, but Torn was amused. "You and the rodent want to start proving yourselves?" he said with a chuckle. "One of our... 'suppliers' needs his payment delivered. A bag of Eco ore. Take the Zoomer parked out back and drive it to the Hip Hog Heaven saloon in South Town. Ask for Krew; he'll be there. And _don't_ let the Baron's patrols stop you."

All three of the adventurers soaked in the details, but Daxter was doing so with a comically serious air about him, his eyes darting left and right suspiciously as if there would be potential eavesdroppers in the pipework.

"By the way," Torn added, turning his back on them, "when you get there, pump Krew for information. He's wired into the city and may know what the Baron and Even are up to."

"**You** can **count** on **us**!" Daxter declared confidently.

Torn wasn't impressed. "Are you still here?"

* * *

Daxter led the group out of the Hideout, far more enthused by the prospect of a "serious" mission. He was quick to point out the parked Zoomer near the bend in the alley's path. Strapped to it was a rather large cloth bag which bulged with the solid material stuffed inside it.

Alex shook his head to try and steady himself. "As soon as the KG see the package, they'll raise an alert," he told Jak and Daxter. "Blockades will come up, soldiers and Zoomers will chase after us, and the Heartless will start appearing all over the place."

Jak placed a hand on the Zoomer, giving Alex a confused look. "So how do we get through them?"

It took Alex a moment, but then he came up with an idea. "You get up on the Zoomer and race through them as fast as you can. I'll stay on the ground and do my best to clear the blockades ahead of you."

"Wait," Daxter cut in, "you're gonna get ahead of us on the **ground**?"

Alexander grinned. "Why not?"

"Whatever," Jak growled, climbing onto the Zoomer and firing up its engine. "Lets move."

As Jak brought the Zoomer into the high hover zone, Alexander rushed out into the streets using his Quick Run ability, managing to get far ahead of them before Jak could even accelerate.

Jak quickly turned onto the main Slums thoroughfare and weaved between lanes of traffic at high speed, making sure to follow the general direction of the symbol on his minimap, which was placed southward and in the shape of a blue wine glass.

Soon, he managed to head south enough to the point where the Slums and the Industrial Sector met. There was a red barrier cutting a line between the two zones, but it faded right before Jak's Zoomer reached it. Finally, they were moving into another section of the city.

When they crossed the border, though, the city alarm came on, sending a repeating blare throughout the entire city. Jak immediately dropped the Zoomer into the low hover zone to avoid traffic and put the pedal to the metal.

As he made a left turn into a large square clearing of the metal street, a turret suddenly popped up to life to his right and aimed at him. Jak quickly swerved to avoid a flurry of shots that soon followed.

All of a sudden, a golden bolt of lightning crashed through a large Krimzon Guard vehicle that had been stationed up ahead of the protagonist. The vehicle exploded, damaging a number of surrounding KG vehicles and causing them to crash as well. Just in front of the wreckage was Alexander, who quickly climbed over them and started Quick Running ahead once more.

Jak brought the Zoomer higher and lower quickly to hop over the wreck without losing too much momentum. He was then forced to make a _sharp_ right turn as the street swerved around between two large industrial buildings. Several small KG Zoomers flew toward them, and one of them tried firing a few shots, but Jak was able to fly past them quickly enough to avoid getting hit.

A few more corners and another sharp U-turn later, and Jak was barreling down into the largest clearing in the entire Industrial Sector. The greatest number of civilians and KG soldiers were there, and Jak was forced to rise up into traffic in order to avoid crashing into people who would slow him down.

On the right side of the far clearing was a narrow path leading out of the sector, but it was guarded by another vehicle blockade. The communicator hummed to life as Torn shouted at him to evade, but Jak couldn't hear him over the volley of shots that the vehicles commenced.

But then another Lightning blast cut through the central vehicle, sending all of them crashing and burnign to the ground in the resulting explosion. Without losing any momentum, Jak was able to fly over them and into the official South Town area.

The street was now much wider and clearer, and the path was made of gray stone instead of black steel. The alarm was still blaring, but the path was too wide for any more blockades.

Jak and Daxter flew out into the semicircular port, crossing the large expanse of water in order to reach the saloon on the other side. Unfortunately, Alexander was forced to stop and start moving along the land path around the water. He couldn't swim as fast as he could Quick Run, after all.

Meanwhile, Jak found himself dodging bullets and ramming KG Zoomers that headed toward him over the water. He swerved and kept changing hover zones in order to keep moving and stay hard to hit.

As he neared the large neon sign with the animatronic Hip Hog, though, the KG started to give up the chase. By the time Jak disembarked in front of the saloon's door and Alex had finally reached him through the long way around, the city's alert status had been dropped altogether, and the alarm had ceased.

"Not bad," Jak said simply, hauling the bag off the Zoomer and holding it firmly in his hand as they walked through the door to the saloon.

Alex grimaced as he followed through the door. In his entire time as a KG officer, he'd avoided coming to this place entirely. Besides it being a shady place to hang around and a source of bad reputation at the office, there was something from the game he just didn't want to see in reality here.

Still, he took the time to drink in the familiar sight as they walked in. It was about what you'd expect from a cheap, seedy restaurant in the real world. It was square-shaped overall with several tables dug into the walls on either side. To the side of the door was a sort of arcade game, in the center was a makeshift arena with a pole sticking up through the center, and at the back was a bar. Lewd pictures, Metal Head trophies, and lots of neon lights covered the walls, especially near the roof.

The only person visible at the moment was a dark-skinned, green-eyed man with a gray hair and a goatee. The man was obviously dressed for battle, with armored plating made out of Metal Head plates covering him from head to toe. Even the man's rifle had a Metal Head skull at the business end.

As they approached, Daxter smiled and said, "Let me handle this, Jak. Watch my _finesse_ and _style_."

Daxter jumped off, and Jak said, "Don't forget to ask–"

"Everything's cool," Daxter declared to no one in particular, cutting Jak off. "Nobody panic. Hey, big guy." He then stepped through the armored man's legs and looked up, expecting to see who they'd come to see.

He did see. _Finesse_ and _style_ were thrown out the window as Daxter's jaw dropped and his eyes went as wide as they could go.

The man was floating down in a hover-chair, and for good reason. The chair had been made with a rounded back and seat, and the man filled those curves and then some. This man was _unbelievably_ fat. His body was nothing more than rolls and rolls of disgusting flesh, eating up his neck, plumping up his face, dragging his ears into a drooped position, and stretching his clothes obscenely. The man's pants looked like a big green tarp stretched around his ballooning lower body that was _still_ tearing it at the seams. Not only that, but the man looked absolutely greasy, staining his green shirt brown and making the light shine off his doughy skin.

Alexander instantly froze up and gagged. This was definitely Krew, the most disgusting single person ever imagined. And he was _**so**_ much worse in person.


	11. The Wastelanders

Chapter 10  
The Wastelanders

Alex stood back as far as he reasonably could, trying to regain his composure without looking like it. He had specifically avoided seeing Krew for the last two years, and now he saw why that had been a wise thing to do. His first instinct was to scream and tear his spiky hair out, but sense and reason dictated that they remain polite for the sake of business.

For all their sakes, he decided to go back and wait near the door.

Fortunately, Jak and Daxter were very quick to reassert themselves. "You Krew?" Daxter asked with his trademark confidence. "Well, we shook the heat, and your shipment's in _primo_ condition."

"That's good, ey," Krew replied in a voice that was just as thick and sweaty as his body was, "because a cargo of rare Eco ore is worth more than _ten_ of your lives."

With increasingly labored breath, Krew slowly hovered toward Jak with a grin that only held a handful of gross, yellow teeth. "Mmm, and of course, I'd be forced to collect... _slowly_."

Chuckling, he began to hover around Jak, who just glared back without losing any ground. "The Underground will take anyone with a _pulse_ these days." Daxter then jumped onto Jak's shoulder plate, and Krew immediately took notice. "And what do we have here...? The Shadow's mascot of the month?"

Daxter tried to look defiant, but his concentration broke when Krew scratched his chin and rubbed the fur on top of his head. "Oooh, soft..." Krew noted as he moved back. Glancing at his bodyguard, he said, "Sig, this fur would go well with my silk suits, ey?"

"Listen, eh, _tons_ of _fun_," Daxter cut in nervously, "anyone can see that... you, uh, and I have the real juice in this 'burg..."

Everyone else in the room exchanged confused looks. But Daxter kept nervously rambling on. "We're both players, right? We're both lookin' for a piece of the action, right? I think we can do business... right?"

"We did you a favor! Now it's your turn," Jak interrupted, having had enough of Daxter's _finesse_ and _style_. "Why is the Baron giving Eco to Metal Heads!"

Krew's face managed to get even uglier with his rage. "Questions like that could get a person _killed_, ey!" he shouted, closing in on Jak menacingly. "Sig! ...Pay 'el Capitan' and his friend... a bonus."

Sig nodded and slowly advanced on Jak. Ready for a fight, Jak brought his arms up in a defensive stance. But Sig instead shoved a gun into his hands. It was a weapon unlike anything either Jak or Alexander had ever seen. The main body of the gun housed two thick gunbarrels stacked on top of each other, the lower one extended a bit further. On top of the gun was a large red disc-like cartridge, presumably for Red Eco ammunition. It was a large, heavy piece of weaponry, but it looked far more powerful than the KG rifles or pistols.

Jak couldn't help but grin as he took what was called the Morph Gun.

"If you want to see what this baby can do," Krew continued, "try the Gun Course outside. Show me some skill with that hardware, and I'll hire you for a job or two, ey?"

Jak looked down at the gun, back up at Krew, then back down at the gun. With a shrug, he placed the gun in the convenient leather pouch on his back and walked toward the door. They passed Alexander on their way out.

Before they could say anything, Alex said, "I'll just wait here." As much as he didn't want to be around Krew, he wasn't enthused by the prospect of watching Jak go through gun training.

The protagonist nodded and walked out the door, leaving Alexander with Krew. Sig walked toward the back of the building on some errand. With nothing better to do, Krew finally took notice of the Interference. "And who might _you_ be?" Krew asked, floating toward Alex slowly.

Fighting back the bile rising in his throat, Alex managed to say, "No one worth mentioning..." He was beginning to regret his choice. Maybe he could just wait outside... He decided that was a good idea and went for the door as well.

But Krew flew a bit more quickly and cut him off, nearly making Alex throw up right then and there. The _stench_...

As Alexander backed off, Krew grinned and floated toward him. "Fascinating weather we've had in the last few minutes, ey? Lightning doesn't strike this city often, you know..."

Alex was too busy suppressing his bodily functions to see what Krew was getting at. He backed up against one of the booths, holding a hand over his mouth.

Krew looked surprised for a moment. He grabbed Alex's covering hand with his fat digits and held it up, using his thumb to push down the cuff of the jacket. Alexander quickly pulled his arm back and choked down his own bile.

"Interesting..." Krew murmured.

"C-_Cure_!" Alexander groaned. Green light spread out from him as healing magic pushed away the feeling of nausea. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself, and glared at Krew.

"It's you," Krew stated simply, floating back with a mischievous smile on his face. "There are only a certain few... with those scars on their wrists."

Alex grunted angrily, averting his gaze from the crime boss. It'd been a _long_ while since he'd been caught off guard like that. Weren't his magicked garments supposed to deal with that kind of stuff?

Krew looked thoughtful. "It's been a whole year, hasn't it? Not since Dead Town got its name..."

Alexander winced. Like he needed a reminder. "So what?" he muttered irritably. "Trust me, I'm not exactly on your _side_ here."

"Hmph," Krew grunted. "That's not how this business works. We don't gather under one banner... We take turns, ey."

But he was cut off before he could continue with his analogy. Sig intruded upon the scene and looked at his employer. "They beat the course," he stated simply. "Got Bronze on it, too."

Krew looked like a greedy little kid. "Oooh... Very well, then." He seemed to consider something before saying, "Sig, you've heard of Alexander Karsath?"

Sig took a good hard look at Alex, who simply stared back. "...Yeah."

The crime lord grinned. "I was just explaining how a partnership might be... beneficial to both of us." Looking at Alex, he said, "It's a simple relationship when you get down to it, ey. You do what I want, and I'll give you the tools... to do what _you_ want."

"Tough luck," Alex responded coldly. "I've already got all the tools I need. The magic, the shield... I've got it covered."

"Hmmhmmhmm..." Krew chuckled evilly. "_Clearly_. And you have the scars to show for it..."

Alex reflexively raised a fist. In a flash, Sig had the Metal Head skull on his rifle pointed at Alexander's chest.

The door to the pub opened, and Jak and Daxter walked through. Without missing a beat, Krew floated over to them with a business smile on his face. "Excellent shooting, Jak," he praised the protagonist. "Ever thought about being a Wastelander, _hmmm_?"

Sig lowered his rifle and rejoined his employer. Alex simply stood there and shook.

Jak glanced at Sig. "Can't say that I have," he replied honestly.

"Wastelanders find items from outside the city walls, ey," Krew explained. "Any artifact or weapon worth having comes through **my** hands. Work for me, and I'll throw some of the sweeter items your way, hmmm?"

"Kill Metal Heads? Get toys?" Jak said, stroking his goatee with a smirk. "Sounds good to me."

Daxter jumped onto Jak's shoulder. "Slow down, Jak and the fat man!" he cut in. "You two had better run that by me _again_, 'cause there's **no way** I'm going outside the city to face more Metal Heads!"

Krew quickly took the situation out of Daxter's hands. "Sig will show you the ropes," he said, floating away to let his bodyguard take charge.

As Daxter shook his head in dismay, Sig crossed his arms and grinned at the dynamic duo. "So **you** want to be Wastelanders, huh doughboys? Well, we'll see what you're made of when we get out in the thick."

From a ways behind Sig, Alex could see that Jak looked fairly intrigued. Daxter, on the other hand, was doing his best not to look _too_ uncomfortable.

"Krew wants some new trophies to put butts in chairs at the Hip Hog," Sig explained. "So I'm gonna bag him five _nasty_ Metal Heads at the Pumping Station."

Daxter gulped.

"Don't wet your fur, chili pepper," Sig reassured the Ottsel with a mad grin, "'cause we're rollin' with the Peace Maker!" With that, he hefted up his heavy rifle for them to see. Underneath the Metal Head skull was the barrel of a gun that looked _frighteningly_ powerful.

In an instant, all of Daxter's fears were forgotten. "Woo! I need one o' those! Where'd you get it?"

"_Don't ask_," Krew cut in, flying back into the conversation circle. "Sig need somebody to watch his back while he hunts Metal Heads, ey?"

Alex, his pride momentarily swallowed at this point, also decided to rejoin the group on the other side of Sig. "Well... if we're heading out of the city, you're gonna need me. Heartless and whatnot..."

Sig nodded. "We'll meet at the Pumping Station. _Listen_, cherries, don't leave me dangling in the wind out there!"

Jak and Daxter got serious. More than ready to go, Jak said, "Let's do it."

* * *

Sig left ahead of them to scout out the area and give Jak and the group time to prepare for the mission. Soon after, Jak managed to hijack a heavy-double Zoomer for them to use. Alex climbed into the second seat, and soon they were flying through the streets of Haven City once again, heading back to the Slums.

"So what happened in there?" Jak quickly asked as he drove.

Alex tried not to grimace. He was hoping they wouldn't ask about the scene they had stumbled upon. Still, a noncommittal answer came to him quickly. "Let's just say I'm more popular than I thought I was."

"That's saying something," Daxter remarked from Jak's shoulder.

"It is," Alexander replied, pretending the Ottsel's jab had gone over his head.

They rode for a while in silence after that. Jak wove through the Industrial Sector and passed over a Heartless patrol. Alex was an uncomfortable passenger; he worried that the protagonists would press him harder and harder for questions about who he was and why he was there.

After a while, Jak said, "It looked like you were about to get shot."

"He caught me off guard," the Interference explained, completely honest this time. "He and I hadn't met before, but he'd heard of me. My abilities, my magics... they precede me."

"Hmph," Daxter grunted. "Better than everyone treating you like newbies! Right, Jak?"

Jak nodded. He dropped the Zoomer into the lower hover zone, setting down just a few feet above a wooden bridge. "We're here."

The trio disembarked from the Zoomer and passed through the security gate to the Pumping Station. As they stepped onto the sandy island, the glare from the setting sun forced them to shield their eyes somewhat. Near the first pumps ahead, they could see that the smaller critters from their last visit had been replaced by Metal Heads, mostly of the staff-wielding Juice Goon variety.

For a moment, Alexander forgot himself and cringed a little. Not only were the Juice Goons annoying in the game, the staffs they used were able to shock enemies with electrical energy. Having been electrocuted to the point of trauma, he wasn't sure he wanted to be anywhere near this breed of Metal Head.

Then the moment passed, and Alexander Karsath was back to being cold and professional.

Sig, their temporary Wastelander companion, had hidden himself behind a couple of trees as he watched the monsters ahead. But he heard their footsteps as they approached and welcomed them with a wide grin. "Hello, cherries. Ready to hunt some Metal Heads?" He rose from his kneeling position. "Follow me, stick close, and watch my six. It's gonna be _fun_!"

The Wastelander snatched up his rifle and charged across the beachhead toward the monsters. "Let's go!" He started taking shots at the Metal Heads, shooting red blasts of energy from his rifle and felling them within a few hits.

Jak followed suit, bringing out his brand new Morph Gun and charging into the fray. Each pull of the trigger brought on a shotgun-like blast of Red Eco from the weapon's Scatter Gun, knocking the enemies back and setting them up for another shot while Jak pumped the stock back to reload.

Alexander hesitated for a moment. Between two allies with ranged weapons, a melee fighter like him was liable to just get in the way. But he noticed a few Snaggle Tooth creatures rushing in from beyond the piping, apparently drawn in by the sounds of battle. Alexander rushed toward them with a Quick Run and started slicing into them with the Seal of Mar Lockshield.

That particular design was a weapon ideal for his physical combat, he'd come to realize. The blades, the balance, the speed... as much as he hated to admit it, it was a far superior weapon to the Heartless Seal design, even if it meant sacrificing magic for a while.

To finish this train of thought, Alex stabbed one of the shield's curved blades into the body of the remaining Snaggle Tooth. Its life ended abruptly, and its life energy scattered into tiny purple particles before fading away.

The battlefield was clear. Jak and Sig had taken out the rest. Lowering his gun for a moment, the Wastelander grinned and said, "Quick and efficient. I _like_ it. Now let's go!"

Sig jumped onto one of the two large alternating pumps, riding it up to the platform high above them. Jak got on the other one as Sig rose, then jumped up to the platform as well. Alexander skipped the process altogether, using a High Jump to clear the vertical distance between them.

On the platform were two of the green frog-like Puffer creatures, almost immediately dispatched by one wide blast from Jak's Scatter Gun.

From there, it looked like Sig was heading left... but there was a giant water tank in the way. "Alright," Sig said, "you guys get behind me now." He knelt down to one knee and held down the trigger on his weapon.

Jak, Daxter, and Alexander followed Sig's suggestion, but Alex placed himself a little off to the side in order to properly see Sig's Peace Maker charge up.

As he might've expected, the game's presentation didn't do the phenomenal weapon justice. Within the Metal Head skull at the end of Sig's rifle, a blue light started to shine. The light spread out and became an orb of white electrical energy surrounded by a blue glow. The electricity then reached a plateau in its growth and started to become more densely packed, with massive sparks crackling around the orb with insane speed and ferocity. The orb kept getting more dense and violent, and the rifle shook so much it looked like it might fly out of Sig's firm grip.

The Peace Maker was a terrifying electro-bomb inches away from going off. Alexander instinctively backed away toward the edge of the platform. "How far back did you say...?" he asked hesitantly.

Sig smiled and stood to his full height, still tightly gripping the Peace Maker weapon. Aiming down the sight at the tanker, he simply said, "Back."

He let the trigger go, and the Peace Maker left the barrel of the weapon with a thunderous pop. Instantly, the water tank exploded into many pieces, spraying torrents of water everywhere. A large piece of shrapnel barely missed Daxter's foot as it bounced by.

The path was clear. Alexander stood there with his jaw dropped, while Jak just stood there with an evil grin. "Oh _hell_ yes," he said. "I gotta get one of those."

Alex had a little laugh. No doubt Jak was imagining using that on the Baron. Or the Baron's stuff.

Sig laughed as well and started down the path. "Well, who knows? You work hard enough for Krew and he may give you one."

The platform was followed by a metal bridge spanning over the water from one piece of the island to the next. On the right was a huge crate, and Sig flattened himself against it.

"Alright, there are two more of those fellas on the other side," the Wastelander said quietly. Alexander, of course, knew what he was talking about: two Juice Goon Metal Heads waiting on the other side of the crate.

Sig pointed at Jak. "You. Take them out."

Without another word, Jak ran around the crate and started firing at the first Juice Goon. Behind Sig, Alex was pleasantly surprised at how this was working out. It wasn't the escort mission he remembered from the game at all. Rather, they were on a job, working as quickly and efficiently as possible, with Sig as the official leader.

Then again, his memory had gotten fuzzy after spending so much time in Haven City already. And he was more than used to the way things worked around here. But at least he was working with competent people and not a platoon of Krimzon Guards.

Jak shot another Scatter Gun blast at the second Juice Goon and delivered a spinning kick to the creature's head. The Metal Head stumbled over the railing and toppled into the water far below. A turret popped up from the water beyond the island and fired high-power shots at the monster, finishing it off.

Daxter was just a _bit_ put off by that. "O-_kayyyy_... Note to self, don't go out to sea."

"Great, kid, great!" Sig exclaimed, leading the party forward. "Don't get cocky."

Just ahead was a right turn in the platform. But a section of the path right after that turn was raised up, preventing any easy access. What was worse, Shadows and Soldier Heartless appeared on the platform as soon as they set foot on it.

"Jak!" Sig barked. "Lower the platform! We'll hold them off!"

Realizing that "we" meant him as well, Alexander immediately summoned the Heartless Seal Lockshield and went about smacking the dark creatures. Sig started firing at them as well.

Jak, meanwhile, dashed over to the raised pathway and grabbed onto the ledge. Mechanical clicking sounds started from below as the platform automatically lowered. With the job done, Jak brandished his Scatter Gun and blasted a few Shadows off the platform entirely.

It was a quick encounter. Sig ordered them to keep moving, but Alex couldn't help but reflect on how surprised he was by all of this. If he'd been with a platoon of Krimzon Guards while fighting a bunch of Shadows and Soldiers, he'd be the one doing most of the work.

The weapons and abilities in the Jak and Daxter universe were not nearly as extravagant as those in Kingdom Hearts, Fullmetal Alchemist, or Chrono Trigger. No one could use Reactions like he could, no one could change their surroundings with alchemy, and no one could cast spells like Lightning or Chronos Break. The whole basis of his career in the Krimzon Guard was the fact that his abilities placed him above everything else this world could offer.

But the Morph Gun, and even Sig's own customized rifle... They provided distinct advantages over his abilities. Long range attacks, with lots of ammunition...

Alexander was finally getting to see another side of this world. A side where other people were actually _competent_, unlike Baron Praxis.

On the other side of the newly connected walkway was a left turn, which immediately led to a ramp down to the beach. But Sig immediately came to a halt and pointed upward.

The party's eyes followed his arm up to the pillar of the Pumping Station across the water. High above them, one of the big, quadrupedal Spider Gunner Metal Heads was pacing back and forth.

Sig knelt down and rested his gun on one knee. "There's our first target. Keep the other creatures back while I charge up a Peace Maker!"

The Wastelander pulled on the trigger of his rifle and didn't let go. An incessant, high-pitched whirring sound began to emanate from the machine. Almost instantly, random creatures started popping up out of the water to attack. But Jak started firing with his Scatter Gun before Alex could move in, sending them right back down into the water.

"Yeah!" Daxter cheered. "Take that!"

After a few moments of this, the monsters stopped coming. Sig stood up and aimed his rifle. The charged, sparking ball of blue electric death was there again, contained within the Metal Head skull at the end of the barrel.

"Uh-oh," Alex mumbled.

Sig lifted the trigger, and the Peace Maker round blasted out of the gun and swirled through the air toward the Metal Head. The lightning ball struck true, constantly shocking the surprised Metal Head for a few seconds as it stumbled around frantically.

As it fumbled toward the edge, Sig held a thumb up and watched. Eventually, the Spider Gunner tripped over the edge and fell to its watery doom, and Sig pointed his thumb down.

Daxter watched the splash and looked at the Wastelander. "You, uh... gonna collect that?"

"I'll come back for it later," Sig assured him.

* * *

They followed the ramp down to the beach on the other side of the water. They were up against one of the large pillars of the structure, and the beach continued to the right. And Alex knew that there were a bunch of Juice Goon Metal Heads waiting for them. He still didn't want to risk any electrocution...

"Hold up," he said, causing the others to stop. He moved forward, switching his Lockshield to the Crimson Catalyst design.

Slowly looking from around the corner, he saw the group of Metal Heads milling around. He was fortunately hidden by a few trees and bushes situated right next to the metal wall, but he could still see the group.

He clapped his hands and placed them on the sand. The Metal Heads had heard the clap, but it was already too late for them. Green sparks traveled across the sand and gathered under the monsters, while they just stared at the unfamiliar phenomenon.

Suddenly, Steelspikes stabbed upward from the alchemical reaction, making mincemeat of the entire Metal Head platoon in a matter of seconds.

Sig did a good job of merely looking impressed. "Nice. No wonder Krew's taken a liking to you, cherry."

Alexander grimaced. "I am _**so thrilled**_ about that."

Sig just laughed.

* * *

They found their next target, and Sig opted to fire from the beach. As soon as he started charging up – as soon as that high-pitched sound started up again – a whole bunch of hostile animals started storming the beach.

They came from two directions, so Jak and Alexander had to split up and handle each wave of enemies separately. Alex didn't want to get too close to the ones with the long, barbed tongues, so he used a fair amount of Thundaga to zap them away.

"Hey, quick question," Alex said suddenly. "Why is it that everything has to attack us at the moment you're most vulnerable?" It was one of those things, one of those game mechanics that seemed like they shouldn't exist in reality...

"Quick answer," Sig replied immediately. "They don't like the noise."

Alex stabbed the last creature and pondered it for a moment. "Oh."

Sig stood up, took aim, and fired again. The Peace Maker ball sailed between a large opening in the pipework to strike another large Metal Head. As it toppled over, Sig motioned for them to keep moving.

* * *

As they made their way into the inside of the Pumping Station – the space between the two major rock formations around which the station was built – they took out another of Sig's Metal Head targets.

This one was only two or three stories above them. Under the treatment of the Peace Maker, it also toppled off its cliff and fell with a monstrous roar, bouncing off a couple of metal platforms in the process before crashing into the water.

* * *

Sig decided to be tricky with the fourth one. After getting down to the inside beach, the fourth target was on a stone cliff... on the other side of the beach run. And there was a metal bridge spanning the two sections in the way. Which meant that there was only a small window for the wild-flying Peace Maker to fit through.

"You're serious?" Daxter asked.

"Yep!" Sig said, grinning madly. "Gotta thread the needle this time!"

Alex tried not to be worried. He knew that, so long as nothing changed too drastically, things would progress exactly the way he remembered it. But looking at the shot from his position, it was still a crazy trick to pull off.

As soon as Sig started charging up that Peace Maker, all the creatures in the area started popping up out of the water to attack. Alexander was letting his magic recharge, his alchemy would be too slow, and his Lightning magic power was preciously limited, so he switched to the Seal of Mar Lockshield and started slashing away. Jak broke some KG crates nearby and restocked his ammo before returning to the fray.

So far, so good. Not a single thing had so much as _touched_ Sig this whole time.

Sig stood up and double-checked his aim as he held the shaking rifle. Then a grin split his face again, and he let go. The Peace Maker blasted out of the barrel, spiraled through the air toward the bridge... and barely swung under it, sailing through to crash into the unaware Metal Head on the other side.

Alex, Jak, and Daxter were all equally impressed. Sig just cackled and shouted, "Metal Head _flamb__é_!"

He led the group across a small stream separating their beach from the main stretch, hopping across a few large rocks. Jak and Alexander lagged a little behind, having to take to the things one at a time.

Sig moved forward until he was nearly under the bridge... but then a large group of Heartless showed up, consisting of Soldiers and several of the "mini-magic" types: Red Nocturnes, Yellow Operas, and Blue Rhapsodies.

"Crap!" Alex muttered, dashing into the fray as Sig started firing at the Heartless. "Aaaaaaand..."

The red shots from Sig's gun ceased, replaced by awkward clicking sounds. He whacked away one overeager Soldier and growled, "Great. My gun's jammed!"

"There we go!"

Alexander jumped into the air and started slicing at the Yellow Operas, aiming to get rid of them before they could get a meager Thunder spell out. But the others were already getting started, firing Fire and Blizzard spells at the group.

Jak barely managed to dodge a Blizzard spell as it created a patch of ice at his feet. "Hey!" Daxter shouted. "They're using that magic stuff too!"

Sig continued to fiddle with his gun, ducking to let a Fire blast pass over him. "Get 'em while I fix my gun!" he ordered.

Alexander stepped back and brought up the Heartless Seal Lockshield. "_Strike Raid_!" He sent the spinning shield through a long line of the magic-type Heartless, destroying them with the powerful attack.

Jak kept shooting and punching at the Soldier Heartless, but one of them hopped onto Jak's back and raised a claw up to make a grab for the protagonist's heart. But Daxter stopped the dark creature before it could strike. "Oh, no you don't!" he shouted, pushing the Soldier off... and throwing off his balance in the process, sending the two tumbling onto the sand. "Woah!"

Sig finished messing around with his gun's insides and slapped it back into place. "Okay! Peace Maker is back online!" he declared, punctuating the announcement with a few shots at the remaining Blue Rhapsodies.

Alexander slashed up one of the last Soldiers, clearing most of the area... except for one. Jak, Alex, and Sig lowered their weapons and directed their eyes to the ground where Daxter and the last Soldier Heartless were brawling.

"You wanna piece o' me? _Do ya_?" Daxter started swiping at the Soldier, but the blows just glanced off its armored head. The Soldier quickly knocked Daxter to the ground and jumped on his belly. "Oof!" And jumped again. "Augh!" And again. "Hey!" And again. "Watch it!"

Alex looked to Jak and Sig. "You gonna...?"

"_No_."

Daxter pushed the Heartless off and stood up again. The Ottsel and the Soldier were nearly the same height. Balling his hands into little fists, the Ottsel squared off against the Heartless, muttering, "Alright, buddy. You think you can stomp all over me and get away with it?"

As if to answer his question, the Soldier charged forward and tackled Daxter, knocking him to the ground. The Heartless then proceeded to punch Daxter repeatedly in the face.

"Alright, that's enough," Alexander muttered. Taking a running start, he ran over to the Heartless and slammed his foot into it, launching it across the beach before it crashed and disappeared.

Daxter stood up and smoothed down his ruffled fur. "I coulda taken 'im," he assured the group.

Sig chuckled and continued down the path. Daxter let the matter drop and jumped back onto Jak's shoulder plate. Alexander allowed himself to laugh a little before following the rest.

Sig came to the end of the beach, looking out over the water. "Thanks for watching my butt back there. That was close!" He pointed up at the cliff above them. "Last target. Then we go home."

The Wastelander knelt down and started charging up the Peace Maker. On cue, animals started coming out of the water and headed for Sig. But Alexander and Jak kept them at bay, the process having become a routine at this point.

Before too long, Sig stood up and fired the Peace Maker at the last Spider Gunner. He waited, watched... and cheered as the Metal Head toppled into the water. "BOOM! Home team five, Metal Heads nothin'!"

"And there we go," Alex added, glad to be done with the mission. It was pointless work, but it had turned out to be more entertaining than he'd expected it to be. It was rare for him to actually have _fun_ these days...

Sig moved to leave. "Tell Krew we got 'em all cooked and canned. I'm gonna clean Peace Maker and pick up the trophies."

Jak nodded. Looking around, he saw that the security entrance to the city was relatively close by. They had come full circle. "C'mon Alex," he said, moving toward the door. Alex followed suit.

"You did good, rookies!" Sig called after them as they walked away. Then, suddenly, he started running after them. "Hey, Alex!"

Alex turned around, a confused look on his face. "Yeah?"

"One thing," Sig said. "You knew a guy named Azelas, right? Worked with him a bit?"

The Interference blinked. He hadn't been expecting _that_. "Uh, yeah."

Sig nodded to himself. "Okay. I'll catch up with you later." And he resumed his trek back through the Pumping Station to collect the Metal Head trophies.

Alexander stood there, simply confused. But he didn't want to get left behind, so he quickly ran to catch up with Jak and Daxter. They were waiting for the security door to open.

"So." Jak started, in a tone of voice that instantly told Alex that he was in trouble. "The Heartless can use your brand of magic too."

For some reason, Alex was in higher spirits after the mission than he'd been before it. He just shrugged. "They and I are from a different world. A world with that kind of magic."

"You're from another world?" Daxter asked. "Hey, cool! So are we!"

Alex kept his face calm. They didn't know about the time travel yet.

The security door opened for them. As they walked through, Jak said, "Did you come through a Rift too?"

"...Sorta," Alex replied after taking a moment to consider his response. "A different kind of Rift. I got here first, and then Even and the Heartless came here after me." He turned to Jak as they waited for the second security gate to open. "That's why I'm here. I've been fighting people like Even for over two years now. But Even allied himself with Baron Praxis while I was chained up..."

"So you have to ally with us," Jak finished.

Alex gave him a questioning look. "You're alright with that?"

Jak shrugged. "Well, at least I'm getting some answers. That's a start."

"Fair enough," Alex admitted.

"And it means we're in the same boat," Daxter added. "Us heroes gotta stick together, right?"

Alexander smirked. "That's right, Dax."

And the door to Haven City opened.


	12. Cheating the System

Chapter 11  
Cheating the System

As they boarded the rickety wooden bridges spanning the Water Slums, Jak grunted and doubled over. Purple energy sparked across his body.

"Crap," Alex muttered. "You took most of the Dark Eco on that one, didn't you?"

"Not enough," Jak replied, wincing. "But... a lot."

Alexander frowned as he waited for Jak to recover. Sig hadn't noticed all of the Dark Eco that the enemies were dropping. Sig hadn't noticed when the little blobs flew into either Alex or Jak.

He wondered if all Eco was like that – you can only see what you can pick up, unless it's liable to kill you.

Come to think of it, he never saw the Red Eco ammo that Jak picked up. Maybe there really was an element of convenience to all this. Not that it would be at all surprising...

And then Jak picked himself up. Daxter looked at him worriedly for a moment, but then the expression disappeared. Jak was good to go.

"Y'know..." Alex muttered, now that he was thinking about Dark Eco and the game. "There might be..." He trailed off, not sure how to describe it.

The comment was too disjointed for Jak or Daxter to notice, so they walked onto the rotting (but stable) bridge and started looking for a Zoomer. Jak pulled out his communicator and accessed the minimap screen while Alex followed. And then Jak stopped.

There were two symbols at the edge of the map. One was a champagne glass representing Krew's shady saloon. And then there was one that looked like a golden skull on a wide pedestal.

Jak zoomed the map out. "It's close by."

An uneasy look crossed Daxter's expression. "Is that... what I think it is?"

Alexander looked across the Water Slums. He already knew what it was, and it was probably the best thing that could happen to them at this very moment. "Let's go find out."

* * *

The building was one of many that were suspended over the water of the Water Slums, but it would probably win the award for the most solid design in the district. Whereas most of the buildings were tiny piles of wood and scrap metal glued together into shapes worthy of Yen Sid's tower, this was was large, square, and made out of solid stone. If they had to enter any building in this area, this was one of the best.

Jak slowly pushed the door open, with Alexander close behind. There was a single spacious room, and what was inside made Daxter groan immediately. "That... that... that's just _great_," he muttered. "There was one left."

The room was lit mainly by about a hundred small candles. The candles lined the walls along the floor and along a little ledge above, and there were many more gathered at the other end of the room. The majority of the candles surrounded a giant golden statue. Jutting out from a rounded, squarish base was a big round skull with large eye and nose sockets, with a funnel-like mouth coming down to the floor. A bright blue glow filled every opening with light.

Alex knew this object well, but he was once again surprised by the reality of it. The game, with its far-out third-person perspective, gave a poor impression of scale as the statue towered over them. He also hadn't noticed how only the candles and the altar's light filled the space.

Inspired by the spirituality of the place, Alexander slowly closed the door behind him. Immediately, all the background noise from the city fell silent.

_"Greetings, great warriors,"_ a deep, raspy voice reverberated towards them. Alexander was caught off guard, but Jak and Daxter hardly looked even interested.

"Nice to see you too, glowstick," Daxter sighed.

_"I sense there is a dark rage burning within you,"_ the voice went on, apparently coming from the statue, _"and in time, it will destroy you with its madness. Only the last power of the Precursors can save you."_

Alex swallowed a lump in his throat. The voice had an incredible bass, shaking him to the core with each syllable. Daxter noticed this and said, "Alex, meet the high-and-mighty Precursor Oracle. Oracle, meet Alex."

"Uh-huh," Alex mumbled. Though he hid it, the Interference was worried. The Precursors had been set up to be ancient deities. The Precursors had probably been made aware of the Interference and their existence as game characters. And if they were speaking here, there was a chance they might blow his cover.

The Oracle went on: _"Destroy my enemies, those creatures you call the Metal Heads. Bring me twenty-five of their skull gems, and I will teach you how to control these powers."_

Suddenly, all the worry Alexander felt was gone. "What." But Jak shrugged and started walking out.

Alex panicked. "Wait, wait, y-you're not serious, are you? You're actually gonna get-"

"Hey, it could be a heck of a lot worse!" Daxter pointed out. "In the last adventure, we had to get two-hundred Precursor orbs just to get a single Power Cell! Who knows if there are that many in the whole _city_ now?"

"Oh no-no-no," Alex muttered, turning to face the statue again. "Are you serious? That's an actual thing? We have to collect twenty-five skull gems?"

The Oracle was silent for a moment. _"...Each."_

"WHAT?" Alexander exclaimed. "You're kidding... That's... There's no way we're going to do that!"

Jak stopped at the door. The room fell silent as Alexander waited for a reaction from the golden statue. For a while, there was no response. Daxter, sensing the awkward silence, became uneasy and said, "Uh, Alex... I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but these guys..."

"He's right." Jak walked back to stand by Alexander's side, dragging Daxter along with him. He gave Alex a meaningful look and glared up at the statue again. "We shouldn't have to play fetch when we can get the lesson right _now_."

The lights within the statue briefly intensified. _"You must prove yourselves worthy of the-"_

"Worthy?" Alex echoed, interrupting the mystical Oracle. "With an arbitrary number of Metal Head skull gems? Sorry, but this isn't a sidequest for us! It's very important!"

The statue wasn't convinced, and its tone became angry. _"This power is a privilege. Demanding it will NOT suffice."_

Alex faltered momentarily. He'd known how risky raising an objection would be, but he had assumed that the statue would quickly see reason.

Fortunately, Daxter decided to join in at that moment. "Jak's ready to pop!" the Ottsel pointed out, stomping his foot on Jak's shoulder plate as emphasis. "Have you _seen_ these guys when they go to town? It's not pretty for anybody!"

"We can't control ourselves," Jak added. Alexander nodded in agreement.

Without warning, the statue's eyes flared brighter.

_"DO NOT INSULT ME,"_ the Oracle bellowed, overpowering all of them.

All of the candles flickered for a moment.

_"We have already foreseen the part you play in the coming drama. These tests were designed with your other trials in mind. This is **how it must be**."_

The party fell silent for a moment. Daxter shook his head, muttering, "Did... ANYONE understand that?"

_"Each time you bring me a bounty, I will grant you a dark power,"_ the Oracle explained. _"That power will be sufficient to carry you through the challenges in your future. When your difficulties exceed your capabilities, it will be time to acquire the next dark power."_

"One bit of power at a time?" Jak inquired.

The Oracle's lights flared again. _"These 'lessons' are far too dangerous to teach at once. Your bodies must have time to adapt. The time it takes to acquire skull gems provides that necessary delay."_

Slowly, Alex formulated a renewed argument. "Alright, so we need pacing. But how about we forgo the fetch quest and just... wait? Can't you signal us through Jak's minimap or something when the time's right for the next power?"

The statue was quiet for a while. Alex took that as a good sign, so he kept speaking. "Besides, Even and the Heartless are here, screwing things up. They're going to do everything they can to throw a wrench in your precious 'pacing.' So we need to cheat a bit."

With his argument delivered, the Interference waited for a response. For a while, the statue didn't say anything. In fact, the room was quiet for a rather long time.

Then, out of nowhere, a bolt of violet electricity shot out of the statue's mouth and stabbed into Alexander's heart, lifting him up into the air.

"Alex!" Jak exclaimed in surprise, just before another bolt stabbed into him and lifted him up beside Alexander. Daxter fell off Jak's shoulder in the process.

As the Oracle injected Dark Eco into both of the struggling heroes, slowly bringing about their transformations, it spoke. _"You are bold to defy the great Precursors. Go, and use this dark power to end the world's scourges of metal and darkness."_

To Alex, the process was both similar and different to Baron Praxis's treatments. The Dark Eco entered his body forcefully and painfully, but it immediately started making specific modifications instead of uselessly festering inside him. He could feel the Dark Eco flow through him, carrying the darkness of his heart with it, and he could sense the biological pathways the Eco had established within him.

The Dark Eco also flowed into his mind, briefly making alterations. Some of the cloudy rage was taken away, and some information was put in its place. Information that suddenly became instinct, all of it about his new form and its functions.

The injection ceased, and Anti Alexander dropped to the ground on all fours. Dark Jak landed beside him, hunched over and growling.

The two demons looked at each other, remaining stationary as Dark Eco sparked from their bodies. As Alex looked at Dark Jak's twisted face, he noticed that his vision was still blurry, particularly in the peripheral areas. But a greater instinctive sense made up for it, fueled by the darkness and rage within him. He could hear, smell, and feel things in ways he couldn't before, and this made up for his somewhat diminished sight.

He was still incredibly hateful. He still wanted to tear apart everything that so much as looked at him. But he could keep it in check now. And if they came across any Krimzon Guards or Heartless, he could let loose and tear into them.

But there was one more thing. The power they had both been granted.

Dark Jak jumped into the air and slammed his fist into the floor as he came down. A massive shockwave of Dark Eco blasted outward in a circle, making the building shake momentarily. Fortunately, the bizarre logic of friendly fire in the game universes meant that Alexander and Daxter were unharmed. Slowly, Jak rose up and reverted to his normal form, drained of all his Dark Eco.

That was the Dark Bomb.

It was Anti Alexander's turn. He hunched down and drew his arms close, charging up energy at the center of his form. Then, all at once, he spread his body out and let the energy explode, sending a sphere of Dark Eco energy in all directions. Alex nearly lost his balance as the Anti Form dissipated, leaving him feeling slightly weakened. But while the rage had dissipated, he wasn't feeling the same _emptiness_ he'd felt previously. He wasn't sure what to think of that.

In any case, the information in his head told him that the move was called "Dark Pulse." He thought it strange that his powers weren't more identical to Dark Jak's, but his roots in the Kingdom Hearts Anti Form probably had something to do with that.

Daxter jumped onto Jak's shoulder. "Feelin' better, buddy?"

Jak didn't answer immediately, but nodded his head. "...Kinda. A little bit."

_"I will call you when it is time for the next power,"_ the Oracle told them. _"Now go. You've wasted enough precious time."_

* * *

Jak snatched a light-double Zoomer from a random pedestrian, which the group rode back to Krew's saloon. "Nice!" Daxter exclaimed as they started flying, looking over to Alexander. "Didn't think you could get _anything_ out of those self-loving statues, much less change their minds."

Alexander smirked. "I try."

Jak gave the Interference a critical look. "Did you try with Praxis? Y'know, while you were still _in the Guard_?"

"This again?" Alex muttered, his eyes narrowing. His past in this world was causing him more trouble than he would've liked. Yes, he was opening himself up for questioning by tagging along with the protagonists, but still...

"Look..." the Interference began to say in his defense. "For me, the Krimzon Guard was a way out of prison. It was either help the Baron protect the city for a while or listen to them fry you every night."

Daxter looked skeptical. "You didn't try to-"

"Of _course_ I tried to escape prison," Alexander interjected. "That's what landed me in the high-security block in the first place. And earned me the Shock-cuffs to keep me in line. I was on a leash. A figurative leash seemed like a better option."

"Was it?" Jak asked.

Alex only thought about it for a second. "Absolutely. We're talking about relativity here. And heck, back then the Krimzon Guard wasn't nearly as bad as it is now. All this 'surrender and die' crap? Didn't exist when me and Torn were in the service." He thought back to that fateful day in Old Sandover, when Torn officially resigned. "Which was a year ago."

Jak gave him a look. He steered their Zoomer was reaching the southern port, heading toward the Hip Hog Heaven. "What happened then?"

"Dead Town happened," Alex replied. "Praxis decided to let a whole section of the city die off so that he wouldn't risk the shield. Torn didn't like that. _I_ didn't like that either, but I had other reasons to be there. So he left, and I stuck around a little longer." Alexander thought back to Azelas' death, the Anti Form transformation, and his eventual recapture. "But what I did there told Erol that I was perfect for the Dark Warrior program."

As they closed in on the Hip Hog Heaven, Alexander shot Jak a look. "And now you know my history here. Happy?"

In response, Jak sharply dropped the Zoomer into the lower hover zone, shaking the passengers a bit. "Not yet," the protagonist replied. "You still haven't told us where you got your powers."

Parked in front of the saloon, the heroes disembarked from the aircraft and walked toward the entrance. Jak smirked at Alex. "But I have a feeling you'll tell me when the time is right."

That almost made Alex stop. Was Jak actually _teasing_ information out of him? That was... very different. Every time he'd needed to explain himself, it had come as an information dump all at once. What was going differently now? Was it really Jak? Could Jak could be patient and clever enough to get little bits at a time...?

Or maybe it was just himself, Alex thought. Maybe his reactions had changed.

With Jak confident, Daxter boisterous, and Alexander pensive, the heroes strolled into the seedy bar. The fat crime lord Krew immediately floated their way and revolved around the group.

"You boys are turning out to be quite useful, eh," the horribly ugly man mused. "...Mmm, I have another task for you." Licking his fingers, he said, "The sewers used to be a fabulous smuggling route for me... before the Baron installed security devices."

"And before those late-night snack runs kept you from fittin' out the front door," Daxter remarked caustically.

Jak was also unwilling to just get down to business. Speaking sarcastically, he said, "I bet you've hatched another _brilliant_ plan in that hungry little brain of yours. So, who or what do we need to shake down, knock out, or blow up?"

But Krew wasn't fazed by the ridicule. "Well..." he said in a playful manner, "I need _someone_ to go down and shoot every sentry gun in the sewers. And I'll give you a sweet weapon upgrade if you succeed."

"Let me guess…" Daxter said with a sigh, rolling his eyes. "Dank, murky water?"

Krew nodded.

"Reeks worse than your breath at an oyster fest?" the Ottsel continued.

The crime lord visibly caught onto where Daxter was going with this.

"Fuller o' Metal Heads than your plate at a one-pass buffet?" Daxter ranted, his tone growing more and more irate. "And of course, weapons more lethal than your _ever-so-tighty-whiteys_ on a hot summer day?"

Alexander had to snicker. Krew was glaring at Daxter with unmitigated fury by this point.

"Look, donut hole," Daxter said, "why don't _we_ float around here looking hot and heavy, and _you_ go roto-root the pipes!"

Jak took the opportunity to make a demand. The one they'd originally sought Krew for. "We're not doing anything until you tell us why Metal Heads are trading with the Baron's forces!"

And then Krew was in Jak's face. "I should've had you all knee-capped, eh!" he shouted at them, making Jak flinch a little. "All I know is that the Baron cut a desperate deal with the Metal Head leader."

Still furious, Krew backed up and muttered, "Metal Heads need Eco, so the Baron supplies them with regular shipments. In return, the Metal Heads agreed to attack the city _just enough_ to satisfy the Baron's continued rule."

Now there was a plan doomed to fail. With a laugh, Jak asked, "Yeah, but how long can that deal last?"

Krew thought about it for a moment. "Well, the Baron is running short on Eco, eh. And the Metal Heads are short on patience! Baron Praxis _needs_ this war to keep in power. Otherwise, the city would put the true ruler on the throne… wherever that little _brat_ is."

"What about Even?" Alexander cut in. "What part does he play in this deal?"

"The Dark Warrior leader?" Krew muttered. "His pets play mediator. But other than that… no part at all. The man never leaves his laboratory, as far as I've heard."

This answer surprised the Interference. "Really? But he's one of the Baron's right-hand men."

"All he did was turn that failing program into a partial success," the fat crime lord growled.

Alex fell silent. It was clear he wasn't going to get anything more.

Sensing that their conversation was over, Jak said, "We'll clear your sewers. _And_ we haven't forgotten about that weapons upgrade you promised in return."

Krew let all his hatred show. "**Bloodsuckers**."

* * *

"Whew!" Daxter exclaimed as the trio strolled out of Krew's seedy bar. "That's two for two! Now all we need to do is make Torn introduce us to the Shadow, and we'll _officially_ be on a roll!"

Alexander was surprised by the Ottsel's thought process, since the interrogation they'd just performed was scripted into the game. But the furry orange sidekick had a point: they'd made two successful demands in a row. First the Oracle, now Krew...

While he scanned the airspace for a suitable Zoomer, Jak said, "Maybe Alex can put in a good word for us. Torn seems to trust him."

Put off by Jak's third-person reference of him, Alexander appeared doubtful. "I don't know... Torn's not an easy guy to persuade. Remember, I worked with him in the Guard."

As Jak found a light-double Zoomer and set off to steal it, Alex entertained the idea. Torn _had_ asked him to find ways to speed up the chain of events, and introducing the Shadow early certainly qualified. There weren't any ill consequences he could foresee, and it would help them all become a more cohesive group.

Before he knew it, Jak and Daxter had flown up to him in their freshly liberated Zoomer, offering the empty seat to him. Alex settled into place, and the group took off. "You know what?" he said as they drove. "I think you'll get your hat trick, Dax. I'll head back to the Hideout after this mission and talk to Torn about a meeting."

Jak grinned. "You think it'll work?"

"The seed's been planted," Alexander replied vaguely. "But I'm fairly confident I can warm him up to the idea."

"Great!" Daxter said excitedly. "You're turning out to be alright, new guy. With my brains, Jak's brawn, and your connections, we can take on anything in this cruddy town!" He pointed forward in a commanding gesture. "Bring it on, I say! Bring it on!"

Jak and Alexander laughed as they navigated their way into the Industrial Sector. Following the mini-map on Jak's communicator, the trio found that the Sewers' entrance wasn't too far away from the east Port. It was in a relatively large open block of the sector, the entrance itself dug in a story below ground level with a downward ramp leading to the security door.

The group disembarked and approached the door, and they could already start to smell the Sewer air. "Ugh," Daxter groaned. "That's just great. It's smells like something Krew bathes in. _If_ he bathes." Jak seemed disturbed as well, trying not to make a face.

Alexander was just as nauseous, which surprised him. He thought he would have become used to sewers in general – after all, he'd been in several. There was the sewer under East City in Amestris, the sewer path in Guardia's future, then this sewer in Haven City... Had he ever been to a sewer in the Kingdom Hearts universe? Underground passages, sure, but he didn't recall traipsing through sewage tunnels with Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

But trying to remember his first adventure made him miss his old friends a little bit. He hadn't seen a familiar face in two years. Except for Yen Sid, whom he didn't recall fondly for some reason. Probably because it had taken _two freaking years_ for the old man to render any assistance...

The security door opened up, and Alexander automatically followed Jak and Daxter onto the elevator just beyond the gateway. The elevator platform bounced a little as the two young men put their weight on it, and the elevator started its descent with a loud click and a mechanical whirring sound.

Nostalgia hit Alex like an ocean wave. Letting out a sigh, he couldn't help but mutter, "Great... Back here again."

Jak shot him an incredulous look. "Is there anywhere you _haven't_ been?"

"It gets even better," Alexander deadpanned. "These guns we're about to destroy? I was with the team who... who..."

The Interference trailed off. "Who what?" Daxter asked, but Alexander shushed him.

Alex was feeling tense all of a sudden. There had to be Heartless nearby – wielding the Lockshield all this time had given him a sixth sense about that sort of thing. But he was feeling _really_ tense, more so than his battle instinct normally did.

Then Jak and Daxter became alert. "I hear something!" Jak said out of nowhere, pulling the Morph Gun from the pouch on his back.

The elevator came to a stop, right in front of the security entrance to the Sewers. Alexander sensed there was something big behind the door. He knew this because he could hear loud sounds: lots of muffled scratching and shuffling from behind the security door.

"What the heck?" Alexander said quietly, summoning his Lockshield. He did so not a moment too soon, because by that point the security door was finished unlocking. It opened swiftly.

The hallway was utterly filled with a thick horde of Metal Heads and Heartless. Silver steel and black darkness intermingled in one deadly throng that stretched from wall to wall, numbering at least a hundred individual enemies.

"Holy...!" Jak gasped.

"Freakin'...!" Daxter stuttered.

"Crap!" Alex exclaimed.

The nearest group of monsters started climbing onto the elevator. Jak fired a wide blast with his Scatter Gun, knocking some of the enemies back into the throng. Daxter panicked, screaming, "UP! UP! **WHERE'S THE FREAKING UP BUTTON**?"

Jak reloaded and fired again, then glared at Alexander. "C'mon, do something!"

For a precious few seconds, Alex was frozen solid. He hadn't seen this kind of monster density since the attack on Old Sandover – and there hadn't even been any Heartless there. This was more like the 1000 Heartless battle at Radiant Garden, but there was no guarantee of his Reaction instincts being able to carry him through this, and there wasn't nearly enough room to run around in. He had no standard procedure for this...

The monsters were rushing faster, and Jak was taking too much time to reload between blasts. As the trio backed up against the wall behind them, the monsters started to close the distance.

It was at that moment that Alexander regained his senses. He clapped his hands together and placed them on the wall, creating green sparks that traveled across the surface and down the hall in front of them while Jak kept shooting.

When the glow had reached a significant distance, Alex triggered his intended reaction: rows of Steelspikes shot out from the wall and stabbed the monsters closest to them. The Metal Heads down the hall groaned as their skull gems popped out, while the Heartless in that area suffered severe damage.

With the hallway significantly less occupied, Alexander found the scope of the battle much easier to comprehend. It was still on the huge side, but he'd seen slightly worse mobs in Siam-Sid of Amestris. He switched to the Time Fracture Lockshield design and started swinging at the mob in front of him. Within seconds, he got a flow going of slashing away enemies quickly while knocking back any others that might try to jump him from afar. Jak helped from a distance by continuing to shoot enemies with his Scatter Gun and knock them back.

"_Cyclone_!"

And a great spinning attack from Alexander tore the group apart. The Heartless all but disappeared, while the remaining Metal Heads immediately retreated back and rounded the corner ahead.

Jak finished up the Heartless with his Scatter Gun. He checked all around to make sure there weren't any more enemies waiting in the wings, and then let out a deep breath.

"_That _was a little overkill," Daxter remarked sarcastically.

"Just a tad," Alexander agreed, matching Daxter's sarcasm.

Jak put the Morph Gun back in his holster on his back, then approached Alexander. The Interference was still looking ahead at the junction where the Metal Heads had retreated. "Hey..."

"Hush," was Alex's immediate reply. They waited in silence for a few seconds. "I'm not hearing anything."

"So?" Jak asked.

Alexander visibly drooped a little. "There's supposed to be a gun turret around that corner, in the next hallway."

Jak just placed a hand over his eyes. Daxter jumped down from Jak's shoulder and said, "That explains the angry welcoming committee. Hey, maybe the Metal Heads did this job for us!"

_"Don't count on it,"_ a raggedy voice cut in. Jak's communicator floated up and turned to face them with its camera lens. Krew was keeping tabs on them, it seemed. _"If the guns had been, ah, destroyed... I would have heard about it, eh?"_

Alex frowned at that. At no point was he looking forward to getting shot by a mounted gun, but their absence somehow worried him a lot more. Still staring forwardly, he said, "We're twenty feet away from finding out once and for all."

With that said, Alexander walked forward and flattened himself against the inside wall. Slowly, he made his way over to the corner and positioned himself to peek around it. He stuck his head out a little bit...

And nearly got shot by a bolt of energy for his effort. Alexander ducked back just in time to watch the shot whiz by, a violet-colored blast of Eco that impacted the wall behind them. But as startled as he was, he knew that the turret had a reload time that needed to be exploited in order to destroy it. So when he heard the mechanical whirring of the turret reloading, he dashed out into the hall and started running.

The turret was exactly where he expected it to be, both from the game and in his previous experience down in these Sewers. But there was one important difference: There was a _robotic spider_ perched on top of the turret, its six metal legs wrapped around the main body of the machine. The creature was a red and silver color, and there was a Heartless insignia upon its back.

Alexander had no time to process any more than that. He jumped into the air just as the turret fired again, the purple shot just barely missing him.

He closed the distance as quickly as he could, but he also noticed a few Metal Heads further down the hall. The same types that he and Jak scared off moments before, in fact. The turret had ignored them.

The turret fired once more, but Alexander jumped to the side. Full of adrenaline, he leaped toward the machine and gave it a good whack to the side with the face of the Lockshield. The turret lurched, but didn't break. It turned to face Alex, but he blocked the barrel of the gun with his weapon to keep it from turning all the way.

The robotic spider let out a high-pitched... _tittering_ sound, and lifted one of its legs. Alex's guard was left open for the strange Heartless to push him back, allowing the turret to complete its rotation towards the Interference.

Just before the turret fired, Jak came up from the side and fired his Scatter Gun. The turret snapped off its perch and exploded, sending the Heartless spider-robot flying off. Before Alexander could react, it scurried down the hall after the other Metal Heads. When it reached the end, it jumped up to one of the overhanging pipes and climbed out of sight.

Alexander dismissed his Lockshield and rubbed his chest where the spider thing had kicked him. "Damn it all..."

Jak looked down to the remains of the smashed turret, then back at Alexander. "Metal Heads, KG turrets, and Heartless. It's sure shaping up to be one hell of a job."

"Like all of our problems rolled up into one," Daxter quipped.

"Yeah, well," Alexander groaned, "I've never seen that Heartless before. It's an entirely new type. And that tells me Even's getting busy in whatever lab he's got."

Jak nodded. "I'm guessing the Baron ordered it custom-made."

Alexander wasn't happy about that thought. If the Baron was getting involved with Even's Heartless research… even worse, if _Erol_ was getting involved…

Still, that turret had been a lot stronger than it was in the game. Was this a Heartless specifically designed to interact with and upgrade KG weaponry? Or could it upgrade just any machine whatsoever? What other Heartless had Even created in the eleven months he'd been here? And where was he getting them from?

One thing was for sure: If Even was making Heartless that could upgrade other enemy forces, these new types were about to become a priority.

"Nothin' to do but hunt 'em down," Daxter said matter-of-factly.

"My thoughts exactly," Jak replied, keeping his gun pointed forward as he moved further into the sewer. Alexander let out a small sigh and followed suit. This job was getting less and less fun...

* * *

"So anyway, as I was saying..."

Alexander was interrupted by a Metal Head Grunt bashing its head against the grating next to Jak. The protagonist fired a Scatter Gun blast into the creature, popping the gem out of its skull. Several globs of Dark Eco were released, which Jak absorbed.

Alex cleared his throat and chuckled. "Anyway, y'know how I was talking about nostalgia earlier?"

Jak hopped across a couple of pipes to get across to the next platform, and Alexander followed suit. The hero shrugged when he got there. "Something like that." It seemed he wasn't really interested at the moment, but he was humoring Alex anyway.

The Interference took Jak's indifference in stride. "Funny story: I was with the team that originally _installed_ these turrets we're destroying."

That caught Jak's attention. "Really?"

"Woah, look out!" Daxter shouted, pointing toward a large group of small green frog-like monsters headed their way. "Glubs headed our way!"

Jak rushed forward, taking a couple out with a spinning kick and removing the rest with a Scatter Gun shot. Alexander, meanwhile, just stood there with a confused look on his face. "Glubs?" he asked. "Don't you mean Puffers?"

Daxter quirked an eyebrow back at the traveler. "No, Glubs. That's what their called."

Alexander still wasn't getting it. "What about Snaggle Teeth?"

"You mean Snorkle Teeth?" Daxter corrected him.

Finally, Alex just placed his palm over his face. "Goddammit," he muttered. "They changed the names _again_!" Curse this world for not having a proper bestiary like Chrono Trigger or Kingdom Hearts!

Jak was surprised they were even having this conversation. "Uh... huh. So, Alex, you know where these turrets are?"

Glad for a change of subject, Alex replied, "Kind of. It's been about a year and a half, but I'll recognize the area when we come to it, certainly." It was how he was getting by so far, after all, but he didn't want to mention that. "Anyway, let's keep going."

The group kept going, passing over the remains of the creatures they'd just destroyed. The globs of Dark Eco flew into Jak and Alexander as they passed by. It was a feeling Alex was still just getting used to, especially since he could control his transformation now. Each piece created a sort of buzzing feeling, like electricity spreading through his body. And as much as he loved to use his Lightning magics, feeling electricity on the inside was still very, very uncomfortable for him.

Alex decided to ask for advice. "Hey, Jak. How are you holding up on... y'know, the Dark Eco front?"

Jak rounded the corner of the hallway, still keeping his gun forward. "Better, after that shot from the Oracle. Not quite full yet."

That hadn't quite been what he wanted to know, so Alex decided to rephrase. "I mean, how are you handling the... feeling? It's borderline nauseating for me..."

The hero came to a stop. The hallway ahead was completely dark, save for several telltale glowing gems. Jak frowned and looked back at Alexander. "You've never channeled Eco before, have you?"

This confused Alex a little. "And you have?" But then he remembered the first Jak and Daxter game, where Jak had wielded all manner of Eco in different forms. Had channeling Eco directly felt like what Dark Eco did now?

Jak nodded. "Dark Eco's pretty different, but... it's a skill. You get used to it." He gestured toward the darkness. "You wanna take those guys out?"

Alex smirked and summoned his Lockshield. "Sure, why not?" He walked forward and stepped on a glowing switch in the middle of the hallway. Immediately, the hallway ahead was illuminated with fluorescent light, revealing the three Metal Heads that had been waiting in the shadows.

The Interference incapacitated of the Metal Heads out with a Blizzaga before they could move, then rushed in toward the other two with a flurry of shield swipes. Jak finished off the frozen Metal Head with his weapon, shattering it to pieces, while Alex sliced up the last two monsters.

With the enemies gone, Alex straightened up and looked down the hallway. "We're almost to the next one," he said. "Down the hall and to the left, I think."

Daxter peered down the path. "Left is the only way we can go," he noted. The hallway just turned left at one point, with no other available paths."

Alex started walking. "Yeah, that's the nice thing about this route. You can reach all the turrets by following this linear loop, and it all leads back to the entrance. I think there are more maintenance paths in the Sewers, but they're all underwater right now."

"I see," Jak responded, not really caring.

At the turn of the hallway, there were two Snaggle Teeth/Snorkle Teeth/orange lizard things with long sharp tongues. Hardly wanting to get into close range with those things, Alexander switched to the Crimson Catalyst and took them out remotely by transmuting some Steelspikes.

By now, they could hear the firing of the turret. When they rounded the corner, they could see the shots. The turret was right where Alex expected it to be: At the end of a peninsula extending off the platform and over the water, connected only by a narrow-ish walkway with no rails. Approaching that turret would be a shooting gallery in the making.

And was that...? Yep, that robot spider Heartless was on top of the turret! The shots were made of a dark purple energy instead of the normal red, so Alex could only assume that the Heartless was upgrading the turret's capabilities.

Fortunately, for the moment, they were obscured from view by several thick vertical pipes. But they couldn't enter a line of sight with the turret without getting shot. How would they deal with this one?

"You wanna try zapping this one again?" Daxter offered, referring to Alex's various magic abilities.

Alex reflexively checked his pockets. Not a single Potion or Ether since he'd escaped from the Baron's Fortress. "Limited supply, Dax," the Interference muttered. "I'm not out, but... I want to conserve if possible."

Jak groaned. "Well, if you're not going to..." He trailed off and rushed out into the open, much to Daxter's distress.

For a moment, Alex was worried. Thanks to the Heartless, the turrets were faster and more powerful than they were in the original game! Jak's abilities from before wouldn't work now!

Or so he thought. As it turned out, Jak was tenacious and adaptable. He ducked, weaved, and jumped over each shot, navigating the narrow walkway leading up to the turret. Once he got within range, he blasted it with his Morph Gun, blowing up the turret and sending the robot spider Heartless flying.

The Heartless bounced off the edge of the platform and fell into the water. There were a few sparks as the Heartless began to short-circuit, but the monster quickly jumped back out of the water and retreated into the next hallway.

Alex let out a sigh of relief and started clapping. "Nicely done."

Daxter, however, smacked his friend across the top of the head. "WARN ME next time!"

Jak's communicator floated up into view, with Krew's voice coming from the speakers. _"Two turrets down. Good work so far!"_

The hero himself just put the Morph Gun back in its holster and looked back at Alex. "Two more to go. Let's keep moving."

* * *

"Uh-oh." Alex stopped when he saw the state of the next hallway. It was another dark room, but there was also one rickety metal bridge rounding the corner. He knew there was going to be a special gameplay event here, one that would impede their progress.

Jak, unfortunately, missed Alex's hesitation and stepped onto the bridge anyway.

Alex cringed as the entire bridge failed catastrophically, sending Jak plummeting... about twenty feet. Not that much of a drop by the standards of Kingdom Hearts physics (or Jak and Daxter platforming, for that matter), but it was still a jarring and unexpected fall.

"You alright?" Alex shouted down into the dimly lit space below.

Jak waved back up, grinning. "I'm fine! Looks like we can still keep going down here, so come on down!"

The Interference nodded and hopped down to Jak's level. There were a few Krimzon Guard crates near where the bridge had collapsed, so Alex broke them with his shield. Lo and behold, there were lots and lots of Dark Eco clusters within the crates, which were immediately absorbed by Alexander.

"Woah!" Alex shouted as he found himself at full capacity in a matter of seconds. He felt the transformation wanting to push itself out onto his body, but he managed to stay under control. He remembered the pathways in his body from when the Oracle had injected him. He forced the Dark Eco to follow those paths and maintain a constant circuit in his body. That way, he could keep the Eco inside him without actually letting it show.

Which was difficult, because he could still feel the rage and power in his heart and mind. It was all too tempting to just let loose and destroy something for the fun of it.

Jak and Daxter were starting to stare, though, so Alex quickly got over himself. "Uh, a-anyway." And that seemed to be the end of that.

The ground floor rounded a corner and opened up to a wider space. But they were confronted by a familiar conundrum. Total darkness ahead, lit only by glowing Metal Head skull gems. But instead of just three, the number was closer to ten. The gleaming light and its reflection of the various metal surfaces in the darkness made it seem like even more.

There was a light switch on the floor in front of them. But as soon as they triggered that switch, the Metal Heads would ambush them.

Jak and Alexander got the same idea. Without even sharing a word, Jak stepped on the switch.

The lights came on, revealing exactly eight Metal Head Grunts. A whole mob of medium-level enemies like this would be challenging on its own... but now that they had dark powers, that was a different story.

Alex hesitated for a moment, though. For all the effort to hold back the Dark Eco in his body, actually calling it out again felt like a risky move. He actually had to force himself a little, mostly by remembering hateful memories like Dead Town...

With a guttural cry, darkness enveloped Alexander as he entered his Anti Form. Seeing the Metal Heads through Heartless eyes and feeling the power sparking off his body, Alex felt some evil glee as he realized what destructive abilities he now possessed.

Anti Alexander summoned all the darkness and Eco within himself, hunched over into a small form, then let it explode outward as a Dark Pulse. The spherical wave of darkness washed over the Metal Heads, electrocuting them while delivering an explosive force.

In a few seconds, all eight Metal Heads were gone. There was nothing left but their skull gems littering the metal floor.

Alex hardly noticed that the darkness had left his body. That feeling of darkness and rage still lingered inside him. In the past, such explosive attacks had left him emotionally and physically drained. With this improved Anti Form, he was able to deliver a devastating attack and keep going.

And he had to admit one small thing to himself: He liked it.

* * *

The group managed to climb out of the hole they'd landed in and get back on track. They were now approaching the third turret. However, there were a few problems this time.

This turret overlooked a section of the waterways, and they were on the other side of it. The only way across was by jumping over drainage pipes – which doubled as platforms for their purposes. Unfortunately, the robot spider Heartless had apparently called in reinforcements. The platforms were occupied by one Soldier Heartless each, and several Air Pirates were flying over the whole area.

Jak scowled. "I can get to the turret, but those flying ones are gonna make things difficult."

Alexander nodded. This was where it started to get serious. "I can distract the Air Pirates if you can blast away the Soldiers."

"Works for me," Jak muttered. "Okay. Three... two... one."

Jak and Alexander rushed out from the corner. Jak shot the first Soldier with his Scatter Gun – knocking it off the platform – while Alexander used a High Jump to reach the Air Pirates. Once he was near enough, he used the Heartless Seal to start an aerial combination attack.

The turret had to choose one target to focus on, so it focused on Jak, who was now at the third platform. The fourth Soldier took the initiative and leaped toward Jak with claws ready, but Jak simply knocked it aside with the butt of his gun. From there, he jumped onto the platform where the turret resided.

The unknown Heartless was helpless. The turret didn't quite have a full range of motion, so it couldn't rotate far enough to reach Jak. It tried to escape prematurely before Jak blasted it, but it still got caught in the turret explosion.

The Heartless was really on the edge now. Electrical sparks shot this way and that off its robot body, and it constantly stumbled as it climbed up the platforms and out of sight.

"_Three turrets gone,"_ Krew announced from Jak's communicator. _"Nice. Keep it up."_

Alexander finished off the Air Pirates, releasing two pink hearts. However, the air combo had left him hovering over the water, so his landing ended up being unceremonious at best. Landing in the water didn't make a huge splash, but it was somewhat ungraceful.

And now he was dripping wet. Great. He climbed out of the water and shook himself a little. "Well, that didn't work out perfectly."

Daxter grimaced. "Ick. Sewer water."

"I'm trying not to think about that," Alexander muttered under his breath.

* * *

The next hallway was one Alex knew a little too well – it started in pitch blackness with three Metal Heads inside. There was a light switch, which triggered the ambush. But halfway inside, as they fought the Metal Heads, the lights suddenly went dark again.

Alex had expected it, but he wasn't expecting how disorienting it would be. All of a sudden his footing and bearings were uncertain, with only the light of his enemies as a guide. Before he knew it, there was a pair of metal claws raking against his chest. He smacked away the Metal Head, but found another one swiping at his back.

Jak, on the other hand, was still capable of fighting. All he had to do was point and shoot, regardless of the light. He came to Alex's rescue and blasted the Metal Heads away, finishing them off by himself.

"Thanks," Alex mumbled, breathing a little raggedly. Those surprise attacks had taken off a fair chunk of his health. "Need any healing?"

Jak shook his head, even though Alex couldn't see it in the pitch blackness. But the silence was answer enough. "Eh, I'm gonna do it anyway," Alex grumbled. "_Curaga_."

Green light illuminated the hallway for a moment, restoring the party to full health.

Jak made sure to put a hand on the wall before the light went away. Making his way forward, he said, "That's a very handy ability to have. If you're as experienced as you say you are, I guess I wouldn't be surprised."

This was a key moment, Alex realized. If Jak was getting comfortable with Alex's abilities, that meant there was a foundation for telling Jak about the video game. His whole argument hinged on the fact that his abilities and foreknowledge were otherwise unexplainable.

Now it was a matter of when and how he would break the news.

Pushing those plans out of his mind for now, Alex said, "It's not all that great. It completely drains a set of my magic powers, which means I have to wait for the whole thing to recharge. I can't use any other magic from that set for a while."

They were approaching the end of the tunnel. There was a bit of light showing the outline of the hallway now.

Daxter gave Alex a curious look. "Sets of magics? Are your powers really so organized?"

"I've got a lot of them," Alex pointed out. "Have to keep track of them somehow."

"It's hard to imagine a magical warrior living by a _spreadsheet_," Daxter quipped.

Alex had to laugh. "Yeah... I guess I was a bookworm in another life." That was one way of putting it.

The conversation ended with a turret blast. Purple cannon blasts bounced off the wall in front of them, where they reentered the light and rounded a left-hand corner. At the end of three disconnected platforms was the last turret. The badly damaged Heartless was resting on top of it, shaking the machinery as it desperately held on.

Alex peeked out only a moment to take in the sight – nearly getting shot in the process. At this point, he was annoyed to say the least. "I got this," he announced. He stepped into sight, neatly dodged a turret shot, and shouted, "_Lightning_!"

A bolt of electricity crashed onto the robot spider, zapping both it and the turret beneath it. Both of the enemy constructs exploded in one blast, leaving nothing behind but metal shrapnel and fading darkness.

"About time," Alex muttered.

Jak's communicator sprang to life once more. _"Nice work, boys! You destroyed all the turrets, eh? Now, come back to the Hip Hog."_

"Talk about your dirty work!" Daxter commented. This earned him glares from Jak and Alexander. "C'mon, I've been saving that up all day!"

Alexander, Jak, and Daxter followed the remaining hallways all the way to the end, which led them to a balcony overlooking the first intersection. "See, what'd I tell ya?" Alex said with a grin. "It all loops back around- Woah!"

He was cut off by two Metal Heads dropping down from the ceiling and onto the balcony. In a flash, Jak equipped his Morph Gun and fired a Scatter Gun blast, shoving both Metal Heads off and into the water below. Since they couldn't swim, it wasn't long before they heard the telltale sound of two Metal Head skull gems popping out.

Alex fought to regain his composure. "A-Anyway..."

* * *

From there, it was a quick walk back to the elevator and back into Haven City. Alex, for his part, had never felt so grateful for fresh air in his life. He'd been in a few sewers, but Haven City's had to be at the top of his list when it came to awfulness.

Everything about this city stank to high heaven. Speaking of which...

Jak absconded with a double-seated Zoomer, and it wasn't long before they were back in front of the Hip Hog Heaven saloon. When the entered, Krew was already inside waiting for them.

The absurdly fat crime lord floated near the bar, fanning himself. When the crew approached, he took a sniff and said, "What _is_ that horrible smell?"

"Ohhhh GREAT!" Daxter shouted. "We do your 'dirty work' in the Sewers and come back smelling worse than a wet Hip Hog in a warm barn!"

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, though, he took a sniff of himself and grimaced. Leaning in towards Jak, he muttered, "This could have a serious impact on the lady factor."

Jak just rolled his eyes.

"Nooo..." Krew murmured. He let out a disgusting little belch at this. "I think it was my lunch, actually."

"Eww," was all Alex could say. Quietly.

Krew finally turned around to face the people he'd hired. "Nice work in the Sewers, eh. I guess you're looking for that weapon upgrade, hmmm."

He began to float away. "Well, there's a Blaster mod stashed in some crates at the Port. Find it, and its yours... Hmmhmmhahahaa." And with that parting shot, he was gone, floating into some unknown compartment above the saloon.

Daxter couldn't believe it. "Really?" he asked incredulously. "We have to search up and down the Port for our weapon mod?"

"Not quite," Alexander interrupted. He knew it was at the Gun Course.

…But Jak and Daxter didn't know that he knew that, so he needed to come up with a cover story. "I've... investigated a few of Krew illegal shipments before," he half-lied. Man, he was getting really good at this half-lying thing... "I think I know where Krew's stash is going to be."

Jak looked suspicious for a moment, but apparently let it drop. "Alright. Lead the way."

* * *

When Alex entered the Gun Course first, the conspicuous KG crate was right where it should be – in the smack-dab middle of the room – but there was also an unexpected element.

There was another crate, a bigger steel one, sitting near the wall on the left.

"Um, what?" Alex whispered under his breath. That wasn't supposed to be there...

"Is that where the mod is?" Daxter asked, heading for the steel crate.

Alexander couldn't respond. That crate wasn't supposed to be there! Why in the world was something like that in the Gun Course when the crate with the Blaster mod was clearly in its proper place?

The answer to his question came in the form of a ringing tone emanating from his pocket. He fished out his old Krimzon Guard communicator with some surprise. It still worked as a security pass, but who in the world had his number after so much time?

He flipped the communicator open and pressed a button to let the call through. "Hello?"

"_Is that you, cherry?"_

"Sig?" Alex asked.

"_Heard you were heading toward the Gun Course, so I left you a present. Sorry, Jak, but your mod is in the smaller crate on the other side of the room."_

"Aw, man!" Daxter whined.

"The hell are you doing, Sig?" Alexander demanded.

But the call dropped, and his communicator went silent. About a second later, though, Jak's communicator popped up and started floating around them. _"Alex, Azelas was a good friend of mine. He was a good Wastelander. He had no family back home, so you're practically the closest thing he has to a son."_

Almost immediately, tears started welling up in Alex's eyes. He lowered his head immediately. He didn't need this, not all this emotion, not now... That damn idiot!

"_Inside the crate is Azelas' old gun, with all the bells and whistles,"_ Sig explained. _"I think he'd want you to have it and put it to good use."_

"Okay, okay!" Alex protested, his heart in his throat. "I get it."

"_Take good care of it. And, uh, don't tell Krew I gave it to you."_ With those parting words, Jak's communicator went silent and hitched itself back onto Jak's belt.

Alex fought down the wellspring of emotions rising up. The last thing he needed was a reminder of everything he'd been through. He just needed to... put it aside... and go with the flow. He needed to be the Interference right now, not...

"Who was Azelas? A friend?" Jak asked him.

The young man swallowed and fought to keep any tears from showing. "A... A mentor. He kept me going in spite of... everything... in the first year I was here. He taught me a lot, and... he died right in front of me."

Jak nodded understandingly. Daxter, desperately wanting to change the subject, said, "We'd better find out what he left ya, then."

Alex nodded and walked over to the crate. By now, the swell of emotions had passed, leaving him at an equilibrium. He kept himself focused on the task at hand to keep the thoughts out of his mind.

While Alex inspected the crate, Jak and Daxter went over to the KG crate on the other side of the room and smashed it open. Inside was what appeared to be the end of a gun, with one large barrel and a laser sight beneath it.

Jak attached the barrel to the end of his Morph Gun. Immediately, the weapon subtly compacted and changed shape around it. The red disc-like ammo cartridge became a yellow cylindrical container, the base of the gun extended outward, and the laser sight powered on. In a moment, the Morph Gun had changed from a shotgun to a rifle.

Smirking, Jak picked up the Blaster and stared down the sight toward Alexander, the gun locking and loading into place with a satisfying _click_. Noticing the laser sight aimed at him, Alexander shot the protagonist a dirty look.

Jak and Daxter just grinned evilly at each other, the latter rubbing his hands together with glee.

Alex rolled his eyes and went back to trying to open the crate. He was having some trouble, to be sure. He tried opening the top from every angle, but it just wouldn't come off no matter what he did!

And then he smacked his forehead. "Of course. Hey, Jak, could you help me with this thing?"

Alex instructed Jak to hold onto the top of the crate while Alex lifted from the bottom. Together, they tipped the crate over. As Alex expected, the crate's bottom fell open as soon as the crate tipped over, letting its contents spill out onto the Gun Course floor.

"Upside-down?" Jak asked.

"But made to look right-side-up," Alex added.

He looked down on the floor. Most of the crate was filled with packing material – soft foam inserts stacked on top of each other. But the ones that had fallen out told an interesting story.

Daxter gasped. "Those look like...!"

There was a spinning minigun wheel, a generator with a Metal Head skull wrapped around it, and a gun barrel almost identical to the Blaster mod Jak had just equipped.

Alex instantly recognized the mods. "The Vulcan Fury... The Peace Maker..." These were all...!

The Interference dug deeper into the crate and pulled out the rest of its contents. There was one more inset with what looked to be a bunch of secondary mods. There was also a long leather belt with a pouch attached to it. But the most important piece was at the very end.

Alexander pulled out a heavy piece of metal exactly identical to Jak's weaponry. He was left awestruck by it. "Another..."

"Another Morph Gun?" Daxter exclaimed. "And a billion upgrades!"

"Talk about inheritance," Jak remarked, leaning down and inspecting the equipment. "So Azelas also used a Morph Gun, huh?"

"I guess so," Alex replied, not sure what to think. "And it's... mine now?"

Jak gave Alex a long look. "You ever used a gun before?"

Alexander put the Morph Gun on the ground and thought. "Not... really. I mean, I was given a standard-issue pistol. I hardly ever used it. And what was I going to do, start carrying around that cheap crap the KG uses for weaponry?" He shot Jak an accusatory look. "Did you, before getting your gun?"

Jak just smirked. "You'd be surprised."

It took a while, but Alex realized what the protagonist meant. Jak had used gun-like implements many of times in his previous adventure. He shot Yellow Eco at range plenty of times, and he was no stranger to stationary turrets. So yes, Jak had more gun training from the get-go than Alexander did. Wonderful.

Daxter wasn't too pleased, however. "Fantastic. You get all the cool toys while we're stuck with only two mods!"

That was a good point... Alex didn't want to leave them behind in power, especially with the Heartless backing up both the Krimzon Guard and the Metal Heads. They needed to tip the scales back in their favor.

He glanced down at the mods, then over at the ammo crates in the corner. "I bet..." He switched to the Crimson Catalyst Lockshield and inspected the mods one by one, trying to determine their components and specifications. "Jak, could you break those crates and bring the debris over here?"

It was an unusual request. "What?"

"Just do it. Test out your gun!"

Jak obliged and fired yellow blasts at the KG crates from across the room, destroying them one or two at a time. Once all of them were destroyed, he and Daxter swept up the pieces as best he could and pushed them over to Alexander.

"Should've brought a broom and dustpan," Daxter grumbled.

"Thanks," Alex replied mindlessly, too engrossed in his work all of a sudden. If he could pull this off right...

He clapped his hands and placed them on the metal debris. A flash of green light enveloped the metal for a little while, then spread across to the floor around it. The transmutation took a little time, but the end results were more than worth it.

"Woah..." was Jak's response. Where there had been scrap metal before, there were now replicas of the Morph Gun mods Jak was missing. The Vulcan Fury, Peace Maker, and all three secondary mods were there, right alongside their originals.

"Holy crap, are those for real?" Daxter demanded. When Alex nodded, the Ottsel cheered and screamed, "WOOHOO! Christmas comes early, baby!"

Jak thanked Alexander and equipped the mods one at a time, starting with the secondary mods. One of them increased the rate of fire of the Scatter Gun. The second one increased the ammo capacity of all the mods by about 50%. And the third one appeared to be a damage-increasing mod.

Then he went for the two major weapon mods. He picked up the minigun barrel and attached it to the end of the Scatter Gun. Once again, the Morph Gun changed forms. The ammo cartridge became a curved, L-shaped blue attachment. The original shotgun's trigger disappeared, and a new, larger trigger appeared on the underside of the gun. Jak found himself flipping the entire gun over so he could hold it upside-down in both hands, by both the trigger and a handle on the back. With the Vulcan Fury, he was now a miniature Heavy Weapons Guy.

Jak aimed at the opposite wall and pulled the trigger. The gun took a moment to spin up, but it began to fire high-velocity rounds at the wall, leaving behind Blue Eco trails. At its top speed, Alex guessed it had to be firing over 10 rounds a second.

"Very nice," Daxter remarked. "But let's get to the big one!"

An evil grin appeared on Jak's face. He picked up the Metal Head-skulled weapon and attached it to the end of the Blaster. The ammo pack transformed into a spherical purple container, but other than that it was pretty similar to the Blaster. The laser sight remained, but now the barrel of the gun was replaced by the menacing generator at the end.

"Fire one, fire one!" Daxter demanded with demonic delight.

Jak held down the trigger. As they expected, a blue orb of electricity gathered within the Metal Head skull, causing the gun to shake and rattle. It took only a second to charge up, and Jak let it go as soon as it was ready. Jak was nearly thrown back by the recoil as the powerful shot blasted off like a cannonball, impacting the wall on the other side and creating a temporary lightning singularity.

The Ottsel on Jak's shoulder couldn't have been more ecstatic. "Sweet! Our very own Peace Maker! Now we're rockin'!"

So awestruck by the display, Alexander hadn't even gotten around to assembling his own Morph Gun. But once Jak was finished, the Interference got to it immediately. Forget what he'd said earlier about having enough power on his own – this kind of weapon would be absolutely invaluable!

He wrapped the leather belt around his body, from his right shoulder to under his left arm, aligning the pouch with the center of his back. Then he got around to the Morph Gun itself – an exciting task, because to this point he'd never gotten a good look at Jak's gun.

The first thing he noticed was the ammo display along the top of the weapon. Since the default mod was the Scatter Gun, the tiny screen told him that he had 50 Red Eco ammo out of 50. After inserting the ammo expansion mod, both of those numbers jumped to 75. It must've made the gun more efficient or something...

He inserted the other two secondary mods for good measure, then got around to adding the major mods. Deciding to go about it properly, he started with the Blaster. Once he attached the barrel to the gun, the entire gun shifted similar to how it had for Jak. The shift in weight and balance was surprising, and difficult to get used to. But now the ammo counter said he had 150 Yellow Eco shots available. Not too shabby.

He also noticed something else. On the very back of the gun was, of all things, a _directional pad_. The top button had a red light, and the bottom button had a yellow light. The switching controls were identical to the PS2 controller!

With that knowledge in mind, Alex took little time in attaching the last two weapon mods. The Vulcan Fury, just as before, took up the left side of the d-pad (with 200 ammo), and the Peace Maker took up the slot on the right side (with only 10 shots).

Now he had a complete Morph Gun, an all-in-one solution to all of his ranged combat needs. He switched to the Blaster mod and aimed it around the room. Inside, he felt a surge of glee and pride well up within him. The gun's weight, the tactile sensation of wielding it, everything about it just flowed into Alexander. Almost instantly, he felt a bond with this gun. This was _his_ gun now.

Apparently, without even knowing it, Alex had been a gun enthusiast all along. He'd just never had the opportunity to try it out for himself.

"Are you done now?" Daxter deadpanned.

Alex grinned like a madman. "No," he said, knowing full well that what he was about to say was incredibly corny...

"I'm just getting started."


	13. Just Getting Started

Chapter 12  
Just Getting Started

"Would you knock that off?" Daxter demanded from atop Jak's shoulder. "You look like a kid who found a lifetime's supply of candy."

Alexander frowned, if only because Daxter had more or less encapsulated the feeling he was having right then. How in the world had he gone through three action-packed adventures without ever laying claim to a gun of his own? Hindsight was an incredible thing.

"You haven't even pulled the trigger," Jak pointed out.

They had Alex on that point. He had no idea what wielding this weapon was going to be like. Still, he tried to play it cool. "I need something to shoot at."

Smirking, Jak gestured toward the nearest door to the gun course.

Alexander laughed nervously and shook his head. "Uh, no thanks. I should... probably get used to firing it first."

Daxter facepalmed. "We're doomed."

It was then that Alex came to a realization. The more time the group spent focused on Alexander and his utter lack of gun experience, the more embarrassing it would be. They needed to move on.

Alex pressed down on the Blaster button again, and the entire gun changed into a smaller, compact shape with no ammo cartridge sticking out. Then he placed the Morph Gun into the pouch on his back. Thankfully, it fell into place easily and fit snugly. He'd still be able to retrieve it easily without having to worry about it falling out.

Adjusting the leather strap, Alexander was suddenly reminded of how much he was wearing at the moment. Between the gun strap, purple sash, silver watch clasps, and various emblems on his shoulder, he was carrying a great load of accessories. Perhaps a little too many – between the gun strap wrapping around his shoulder and the sash at his waist, his upper body movement was a bit restricted.

With no offense meant toward the three fairies who'd designed the outfit, Alexander unclasped the sash and stuffed it into one of his (infinite Etherspace) pants pockets. As he did so, he said, "So... wanna head back?"

Jak gave Alex an uneasy look. "You're not going to train?"

_Not in front of you guys,_ Alexander thought to himself. But he didn't say that out loud. "I'm not going to rely on it too heavily for now. I've still got the shield and all. Five minutes shooting cardboard cut-outs isn't going to make me a marksman, and we've still got work to do."

Daxter shrugged. "Okay..." he said, using an if-you-really-think-that's-the-right-decision sort of tone.

The trio walked outside, and Jak used his communicator to check the minimap. Surprisingly, there were two icons lingering at the edges of the map instead of just one. One was the wine glass symbolizing Krew's saloon, and the other was the cutlass representing Torn's Underground Hideout.

"What's this?" Alex asked, looking over Jak's shoulder.

"Looks like both Torn and Krew have jobs for us," Jak replied.

There was only a brief moment of silence. Then, simultaneously, all three of them said, "_Let's split up._"

"I'll go back to Torn, take his mission, and recommend you guys to The Shadow," Alex suggested.

Jak nodded. "I'll go to Krew, and-"

"Hold on!" Daxter interrupted. "We've already got a bunch of neat toys. Why should we keep playing nice to Super Fatman?"

Alexander was ready to make up an alternate explanation, but Jak answered for him. "We still need his connection to get to the Baron."

The Interference was relieved. Sometimes, these things just worked out on their own. Nodding, he added, "With all the bribes and traffic he deals with, he's directly wired into the city's seedy underbelly."

"Oh never, _ever_ use that phrase again," Daxter moaned. "Please."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Point is, he'll know if anything changes for our good Baron. Best to make sure we know these things first, right?"

"Right," Jak agreed. "But let's keep each other updated."

"Sure, you can call me on my old KG tag," Alex responded. "...Shall we?"

The group came to a silent agreement, then parted ways. In one direction, Alexander made his way toward the Hideout to do work for the Underground. In the other, Jak and Daxter headed back toward the Hip Hog Heaven to complete more missions for Krew...

* * *

Jak and Daxter found Krew hovering over the back of the bar, admiring something on display on the highest parts of the wall. At the top left (next to an unflattering portrait of Krew's mother, presumably), was a golden trophy.

Krew glanced back at the duo. "Mmm, your friend with the shield isn't with you? …Eh, no matter."

As they walked up, Krew floated down to their level. "I have a proposition for you, Jak. Racing is the biggest sport in the city. Erol is the undisputed grand champion. He's crazy, and dangerous on the track!" With a laugh, he added, "My kind of guy." Then, getting right in Jak's face, Krew pointed at the hero and said, "Only a _fool_ would dare race against him, eh?"

Jak put up a stern face for as long as he could, but couldn't help quietly waving Krew's stench away when the crime boss' back was turned.

Krew floated toward the bar. "That's where you two come in. A client of mine is looking for a fast driver for her racing team." He picked up a thick stack of papers from the bar, on which a green KG security tag rested. Flinging the pass toward Jak, Krew continued: "Here's a security pass to get you into the Stadium section."

Jak snatched the security pass as it was tossed to him, then reached for the papers. But Krew pulled back at first.

"Uh, and your contract," Krew said, "with just a few trifles for me, heh heh... I've, eh, already signed your name to save time, hmmm."

The crime lord tossed the papers aside, but Daxter caught them neatly and immediately began to read: "We, the racers, hereby agree to give Krew all proceeds from race earnings, endorsement fees, broadcast royalties, syndication residuals, vehicle sponsorships, mall appearance fees, collectible card assets, fast food tie-ins, use-of-likeness rights, talk show deals, clothing lines..."

Jak found himself nearly dozing off where he stood. Okay, they were getting swindled! The point had been long since made!

But Daxter kept going: "...all print rights including book, novella, comic, pamphlet, ticker tape, neon sign and bathroom graffiti designs..."

By this point, Daxter was running out of breath. So he took a huge gasp of air, flipped the page, and kept reading: "...Toy lines, shoe rights, mood rings, game rights..."

The room fell silent for no discernible reason. "GAME RIGHTS?"

Then Daxter returned to the contract: "...Vitamin endorsements, city kickbacks, movie deals, and – of course – all _death_ and _dismemberment_ accident insurance claims."

Krew chuckled. "...We can work out the... tiny details later." He then rounded on Jak once again. "If you can get from here to the Race Garage near the Stadium in less than three minutes, my client said she would consider that you drive for her team."

Jak stroked his goatee in thought. Krew obviously didn't think much about this assignment, but Jak suspected that the races would help him out with his own goals...

Krew floated backward and gave Jak a deep scowl. "Make me proud, _hmmm_?"

* * *

It took Alexander longer than he expected to reach the Underground Hideout. He'd started out by driving a light-double Zoomer, which had turned out to be a mistake. In the year (really eight months) he'd spent driving around Haven City, he was really only proficient with the light-single variety that was driven bike-style rather than car-style. He just couldn't get perfectly comfortable with steering wheels – especially on the double-seated Zoomers, where there was a steering wheel on each side.

So after causing a traffic jam with his inelegant driving, giving up, and searching out a better ride, he finally pulled into the Hideout's alley and dismounted.

Before he approached the hidden entrance, however, he had a thought to contact Jak. The protagonist would've likely gotten his mission from Krew by now, and Alex had a specific act as an Interference he wanted to perform.

He pulled out his KG tag and flipped it open. In a few moments, he'd connected to Jak's communicator signal. There was a lot of wind over the speakers – Jak was likely driving somewhere, and very fast. So Alex raised his voice as he said: "Jak! It's Alex! I just reached the Hideout! What's going on with you?"

"_I'm trying to…"_ Jak started, but cut himself off with a grunt. It sounded like he couldn't concentrate on speaking while he was driving.

Daxter decided to speak in his stead. _"Krew's got us racing toward the Stadium! We're supposed to meet up with some chick at the Race Garage!"_

Alex smirked, thankful that Jak and Daxter couldn't read his expression. "The mechanic at the Race Garage? I remember her from my KG days! I think her name is **Keira**!"

Almost instantly, there was a loud burst of static through the little communicator's speakers, followed by several crashing sounds.

Soon after, Alexander could hear the telltale claxon of the city's alarms. The Interference was silent for several seconds. Then, without a word, he closed the communicator and slipped it back into his pocket.

Feeling very embarrassed, Alex turned toward the Hideout's entrance. The wall had slid open, and Torn was standing in front of the door with an even angrier look on his face than usual. Alex tried to come up with something to say – perhaps something clever – but all he could come up with was: "They can handle themselves."

Torn narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, great idea. _Split up_. Now you can cause twice as many city-wide alarms."

Finally, Alex's wit caught up with him. "Hey, this is only the… third alert we've caused since our escape. Give or take. I think we're doing pretty well, all told."

Torn just intensified his glare. Alex let out a small sigh. Sometimes, there was just no pleasing the ex-KG commander.

Finally, the issue seemed to drop. As Alexander followed Torn inside, the commander said, "I see you're packing some new hardware."

"Yep," was all Alex said, subconsciously adjusting the strap of his back-holster. Needless to say he was quite proud of his new acquisition.

"Tell me something," Torn said, stopping halfway on the stairs. "Are you the same corporal who insisted he didn't _need_ any more weapons?"

Alexander quirked an eyebrow. "Not anything the KG had to offer."

Torn grunted and continued down the stairs. "Just make sure your safety's on. We have an important guest."

This surprised Alexander. "Who?"

They reached the Hideout's main room, and Torn stepped aside. Standing in front of the table was a stout man with green skin, with a thick log sticking through his afro of moss-like hair.

"The Shadow!" Alex exclaimed, answering his own question.

"Alexander!" Samos replied, a pleased expression on his face. "It's wonderful to see you again, my boy. Even if you are… different from before."

Torn stood halfway between Alex and Samos, smirking at the young Interference. "Looks like you made one hell of an impression back in Old Sandover. He asked to see you as soon as possible."

Samos nodded. "Most of us thought you were dead. But I always suspected that you might be still alive; especially after Even blabbed about your true role."

Torn gave Alex a stern look. "Have you told Jak and Daxter?"

Alexander grimaced. "No, I… haven't. I'm getting close, though. They've already accepted a lot of things, like my magic and the fact that I'm from a different world. The video game… well, that's going to be a tough sell no matter how much I set it up."

"These two…" Samos interrupted. "They're the ones you escaped with, correct?"

Immediately, Alex was reminded of his promise to the protagonists. "Yes. I'd highly recommend you meet them in person. They _are_ the heroes of the story, after all."

To Alex's relief, Samos seemed open to the idea. "If that's true, I imagine I'd be meeting them at some point anyway."

The Shadow then turned toward the table, and both Torn and Alexander gathered around as well. Gesturing toward the map of the city, Samos said, "You three couldn't have appeared at a better time. If our intelligence is right, the war between the Baron and the Metal Heads is coming to a head. We need to solve two problems at once, or there won't be a city left to save."

"Speaking of intelligence," Torn cut in, "I have a mission that needs doing. If you don't mind, Shadow…"

Samos nodded and stepped back, and Torn looked directly at Alexander. "I probably don't need to tell you, but one of the Baron's mining operations is under attack."

Alex smirked. "Save the foreman, Vin. Got it."

This only seemed to annoy Torn, though. "Good," he said without really meaning it. "Got anything else to spoil while you're here?"

It was a barely-veiled insult, but Alex took it seriously. The young man took one look at Samos and made up his mind. "Samos, you have an older time twin somewhere in the city. Probably in one of the Baron's prisons."

Samos was shocked. Torn was shocked and _even more pissed_. "Are you kidding? You couldn't have brought that up sooner? Really?"

Alex made his way toward the door. "Believe me, I tried looking for him. But I was just a corporal, so I didn't get very far."

* * *

With just over twenty seconds on the clock, Jak flew up the Stadium steps and into the concourse proper. On the far left of the Stadium's entrance were three "no-fly-zone" markers, so Jak and Daxter disembarked from the (newly acquired) Zoomer there.

Fortunately, the alarm had stopped once it was clear that the Krimzon Guards were being horribly outpaced. Jak had a way of weaving in and out of traffic, switching between hover zones fluidly to take advantage of open spaces. If Alexander hadn't dropped that accidental information bombshell, they might've made it to the Stadium without a scratch.

Daxter barely managed to stay on Jak's shoulder as he half-jogged through the markers, entering the enclosed Race Garage. He immediately spotted the open garage doors on the left, and slowed his movement to a casual stroll.

The insides of the garage were about what he expected, but it was also a tad cluttered. The walls of the garage were lined with shelves holding up tools and schematics, while the group of tables in the center were occupied by the remains of a racing Zoomer. In front of them was a thick green curtain blocking off a section of the garage. Immediately to the right of the curtain was a rather large shelf holding a number of trophies.

Jak gave the garage a quick glance, but he didn't see anyone present – much less their friend Keira. "Uh, hello?" he asked around, somewhat confused. "Krew said someone was looking for a race driver?"

"I'm busy right now! You must be Krew's new errand boys," a high-pitched female voice came from behind the curtain. It sounded a little muffled. Jak tried to peer through the curtain, and could just make out the silhouette of a female form kneeling down next to a hulking machine.

The woman lifted up the welder's mask that had been partially muffling her, and turned toward the curtain. "Look, I don't mean to be rude – you did get here pretty fast – but I'm not interested in any new drivers right now! And I've got work to do!"

Jak and Daxter glanced at each other meaningfully. It was almost hard to tell without any visual cues, but since they were focusing on any resemblance to Keira… this woman was almost a dead-on match.

Daxter jumped onto one of the tables and grinned. "Aw, c'mon. Can't even make time for two of your favorite heroes?"

From the other side of the curtain, there was no mistaking Daxter's unique dialect. Immediately, the curtain was thrown aside to reveal their one-and-only mechanic friend Keira. She let out a gasp and exclaimed, "Jak! Daxter! It IS you!"

"Keira!" the duo shouted simultaneously.

Keira ran over to where Daxter stood and pinched his cheeks, much to the Ottsel's chagrin. "Oh, I never thought I'd be glad to see your furry mug! And Jak…!"

When Keira disengaged from Daxter and turned toward the other friend, she couldn't help but pause. Jak was not the innocent hero he'd been when they'd left Sandover, not by a long shot. There were a number of factors that informed her, but all those subtle factors at once made him look like a totally different person.

At the same time, though, he was unmistakably Jak. So Keira reached forward and wrapped her arms around Jak in a firm hug. She could feel the bulky gun Jak was wearing, but she chose to ignore it for the moment.

Finally, she released the hero from her grip and gave Jak a questioning look. "What happened to you?"

Jak averted his eyes for a moment. There was too much to say for two years unaccounted for. "It's been a tough ride."

Deciding to be more specific, Daxter said, "The Baron pumped our boy here full of Dark Eco! And it _did something_ to him. Now he's got 'super moves' or something." Behind his hand, he added, "And a few anger issues as well."

That would certainly account for the whole attitude shift. Still, it didn't explain everything. "Wait. Hold on," Keira said. "_You're_ Krew's errand boys? _You're _the ones the Baron's guards are looking for? _You guys _caused that alarm?"

"We were just that happy to see you," Daxter quipped, referencing Alexander's surprise call.

Keira peered over Jak's shoulder. "A gun?" she muttered.

Jak scowled. "It's been two years. And all those years, the Baron tortured me in his prison. So… yes. I need Krew's connections to get at the Baron. And I need all the firepower I can get."

"The Jak _I_ know wouldn't work for a slimeball like Krew," Keira countered.

"It's not just Krew," Jak continued. "I'm also working for the Underground."

"Also, by the way, no argument from us that Krew's a slimeball," Daxter cut in. "Literally and figuratively."

Those words seemed to take some of the wind out of Keira's argument. But with one concern momentarily silenced, another one took its place. "Well… who cares about the Baron? What's more important is finding a way back home!"

This came as a surprise to both protagonists. "We can go back?" Daxter asked.

Keira placed a hand over her eyes. "Do you even know what that Rift Gate did?"

When it was clear that neither Jak nor Daxter knew the answer, Keira said, "Guys, that Rift… It took us far into the future!"

…

Now here was a bombshell to rival anything they'd learned since their escape. Both boys' jaws just dropped in shock. Jak was the first to recover, saying, "You mean this… this horrible place… is our world?"

Keira nodded vigorously. "Have you been out to Dead Town? You know what they called it last year? 'Old Sandover'! Daddy's old hut is still there, hiding behind the ruins!"

Daxter slumped into a sitting position, his eyes still wide. "It can't be…"

"We jumped forward two-hundred years into the future," Keira continued to explain. "In that time, the Metal Head wars started, Eco technology advanced, and Haven City was built up right next to Sandover Village!"

Jak was finally starting to get a sense of what was going on. "And then, a year ago, the Baron abandoned that section of the city to the Metal Heads." Alexander had said just as much.

Actually, that brought up an interesting question. Alex had said he was from another world. If they'd traveled through a time Rift to get here, then how did Alexander get here? Where exactly was he from?

Jak suddenly grimaced. That was _precisely_ the question! That was the question they'd been dancing around this whole time. The shield-wielding, magic-slinging stranger had always been upfront with information, except when it came to his own origins. Whenever they asked, Alex always gave them some kind of vague half-answer.

No matter how helpful he was being, Alexander Karsath was holding a lot more back. That information had to be important.

Keira's speaking brought Jak back to the current conversation. "Look, I can't stop you from taking jobs for Krew or the Underground. But please, while you're out there, I need you to help me with my plan to get us home!"

"Sure thing, toots!" Daxter responded, having regained some measure of his characteristic energy. "It'll be just like old times."

"It won't be as simple as collecting arbitrary numbers of Power Cells," Keira warned them. With some flourish, she threw the curtain wide open, revealing… the Rift Rider they'd used back in Sandover!

Daxter laughed upon seeing it. Keira shot the Ottsel a dirty look, but said, "The Rift Rider we used to get here kinda… exploded in the middle of the warp. So I've been building a replica out of old artifacts."

Jak could see the logic: Use the same mechanisms for time travel to go back to their own time. Looking over the machine, he said, "You did all this? I mean, that's… useful."

"Thanks… I guess," Keira said hesitantly. "But I'm still missing two pieces."

"Oh," Jak said. "Still."

Keira gestured towards two parchments hung up on the nearest wall. "Vin – the guy who works at the Power Station – says I need an artifact called the Time Map and an old energy gem the history books call The Heart of Mar."

Jak inspected the old papers. The one on the right was a gem that looked like the ruby button Jak had pressed to start the Rider. The artifact on the left depicted a orb-like container split in two, with various spheres spinning around a glowing core. The Heart of Mar and the Time Map respectively.

Jak glanced over the Rift Rider, and noticed neither of those artifacts were attached to the vehicle's dashboard. Other than that, it seemed to be a faithful replica.

"You know where they are?" he asked Keira.

"I wish," the mechanic admitted. "And there's more. I've looked through every Precursor history book I could find, but the Rift Ring seems to have vanished. And then…"

She trailed off, but Jak knew what she meant. "You haven't found your father?" Jak said quietly.

Keira just shook her head silently.

"Okay…" Jak muttered. "We'll find them."

Daxter started counting on his fingers. "The Time Map, the Heart of Mar, the Rift Ring, and the old man. Heck of a shopping list."

"I know," Keira mumbled, trying to regain her composure. "Just… as soon as you can."

Jak nodded, and motioned for Daxter to join him. The Ottsel jumped onto Jak's shoulder as the hero started walking out of the garage with new goals in mind. But as he reached the garage doors, he looked back and looked at the trophy case.

"Hey," Jak said suddenly. "Looks like you've won a few races."

"Thanks," Keira replied half-heartedly, staring at the Rift Rider.

Jak looked directly at her. "Isn't it true the city champion gets to tour the Palace?"

Keira returned his look with more than a little suspicion. "Yeah… Why?"

Directly to the point, Jak said, "Can you get me into the Palace?"

Keira sighed. Some part of her had seen this coming. "A _friendly_ visit, I gather." She glanced over at Daxter, still sitting on Jak's shoulder. "Dax, you do realize that your best friend is a _lunatic_ bent on revenge, right?"

"And I'll be sure to complain about it _every_ step of the way!" Daxter responded with a mock salute.

Keira quickly went from annoyed to angry. She drew the curtains closed, cutting herself off from the two protagonists. "You know what? No. I'm not telling you anything. Not until you prove to me you can do more than just punch and shoot."

He probably should've been insulted, but Jak was more amused than anything. "Sure. What do you have in mind?"

There was a short silence. Then Keira said, "Take my prototype JET-Board out on the Stadium course. Beat the Stadium challenge, and _maybe_ I'll consider telling you how to get into the Palace."

Jak and Daxter looked at each other with evil grins, mouthing the words 'JET-Board' in unison. Keira couldn't have picked a better quest.

* * *

Alex made sure to stick with the light-single Zoomers as he made his way down to the Power Station, which was tucked away down a side road in the lower parts of the Industrial District. The door to the place was set along the raised highway, above the ground level.

The Interference had been here a couple of times while he was in the Krimzon Guard (and once before while he was a prisoner), so he knew that this place contained one of the very few Warp Gates in the entire city. The only other one Alex could remember was inside the Baron's Fortress. That made the Power Station an important hub for traveling to many of the Baron's other operations, like the Drill Platform and – more presently important – the Strip Mine.

When he walked inside, of course, the Power Station was barren. It was brightly lit, given all the glowing monitors, flashing buttons, and open power currents throughout the spacious room. But the small platform in the middle was devoid of engineers working on the systems.

That was what Alex was here to remedy.

He passed by the monitoring platform and strolled down the narrow pathway to the Warp Gate. And without any further ado, he jumped in, disappearing in a flash.

The next moment, he appeared in the midst of an immense open-air quarry. The dug-out area around him was vast, but there were also high cliffs to the sides and behind Alexander. These cliffs were filled with mining machines hard at work, filling the air with the sounds of rocks being dug out and ground up.

Some distance ahead, the quarry dropped off to another steep cliff leading down to the waters below. Built on opposite ends of this cliff were two administrative buildings. And running between them was a large rail from which enormous crates of freshly mined material were carried from one end of the mine to another.

The building on the right, raised high above the quarry, was Alex's target. From his position down on the quarry floor, he could already see various Heartless gathered around the building. The foreman, Vin, had probably locked himself inside to keep the monsters at bay.

Alexander took a moment to think. Normally, he'd be required to make his way across the quarry up to the leftmost administrative building, and then ride the mining containers across the rail over to where Vin was hiding.

However, it was in his nature to cheat the normal procedure whenever possible. And with the Growth abilities recovered through his magicked adventuring clothes, he could probably get up to the platform in one shot.

It was worth a shot.

Alex started by checking out his immediate surroundings. To his left was a tall hill of rock with a somewhat steep slope and a flat plateau. A few hills like it littered the quarry, and bridges had been built between them. To his right was – to his surprise – a great pool of Dark Eco, with several Metal Head-like stalks sticking out of the middle. Again, this wasn't the only pool of Dark Eco in the quarry; the volatile plasma seemed to be in abundance as a side effect of the mining operation.

Right in front of him, however, were two Krimzon Guard crates. And immediately, Alexander saw an opportunity to test out his new equipment. Instead of summoning his Lockshield to prepare for combat, he pulled out the Morph Gun from his back and activated it, switching it to the Blaster mod.

With one hand around the trigger and the other on the barrel's grip, he aimed the laser sight at one of the crates and fired. A yellow blast shot out of the gun and smashed the crate open, and two floating Red ammo cartridges popped out.

But Alex hadn't quite expected the recoil from the shot. With the gun positioned around his lower chest, the butt of the gun pushed back into his ribs.

It took Alexander a moment to figure out how to deal with this problem. As he aimed the laser sight toward the other crate, he pulled the gun up toward his shoulder before firing. The gun pushed against the space between his shoulder and his neck as it recoiled, and another Yellow Eco bolt smashed the crate. Appropriately enough, two Yellow ammo units appeared in the crate's wreckage.

When he stepped forward to collect the ammo, Alex discovered that collecting ammo for the Morph Gun was just as easy as collecting little globs of Dark Eco. As soon as he touched the Yellow ammo, it flowed through him and into his weapon in an instant. But when he tried to collect the Red ammo, for which he was already at full capacity, it just dissipated.

Alex didn't have long to process this learning, however, because his shots had resonated across the mine. He could hear various digging and scurrying sounds, likely coming from Metal Heads in the vicinity.

"Tutorial's over," Alex said to himself, steeling himself for the coming fight. "Let's play!"

Two scorpion-like Metal Head Stingers dug out of the ground a few yards ahead of Alexander. As soon as he caught a glimpse of their shining skull gems, Alexander aimed at one of them and pulled the trigger. The Yellow blast hit its mark, knocking the rightmost Stinger back.

At this point, Alexander discovered another reason why gun combat was fundamentally different from melee. In close-quarters, combat was all about moving his body to react and attack. But at range, it all came down to one action: Pulling the trigger.

It took Alex a precious second to realize that he needed to pull the trigger again – that one shot wasn't going to be enough.

He fired once more at his previous target, but aimed too low. Since the Blaster was semi-automatic, he just aimed slightly higher and swiftly pulled the trigger once more. This time, the Stinger let out a howl as the blast smashed its skull open, letting its gem pop out.

Now he noticed that the other Stinger was getting dangerously close. He also heard an animalistic growl to his left, and he assumed that there was a Metal Head Grunt coming down the hill next to him.

The Stinger curled up and attacked, extending its gigantic stinger to twice the length of its body. Alexander nimbly hopped backward to dodge, and took a few steps to his right to keep himself out of melee range. As he strafed to the side, he just fired repeatedly at the nearby Stinger until he heard the telltale _thock_ of a released skull gem.

Finally, Alex turned to his left. His suspicions were right; it was a Grunt running down the hill. Without even thinking at this point, Alexander aimed the sight at the Metal Head (a much bigger target than the Stingers, he noted idly) and fired three shots. At the relatively close range, all three blasts were on target and defeated the imposing monster.

Alex checked his surroundings for a moment. There were no Metal Heads trying to attack him now, but every step he took through this quarry would trigger an ambush.

At the moment, Alexander was experiencing a strange sensation. A part of him was thrown way back to his second day as an Interference – way back in Twilight Town – when he'd first attempted any kind of real fighting in his life. Once again, he felt completely new to this kind of combat, and his inexperience in the heat of battle gave him that familiar feeling of desperation and self-doubt.

Still, some of the basic instincts were the same. Gunplay required the same kind of fancy footwork as close-quarters, especially when the gunplay was one-sided (like the previous encounter). Dodging, retreating, reorienting; these were all basic skills that Alex already had plenty of practical experience with.

And at the end of the day, it was just another act of aggression.

Alexander would've liked to ruminate on the implications of his new weapon a bit longer, but the sounds of Metal Heads brought him back to reality. There weren't any more monsters nearby, but their motions throughout the quarry were highly audible.

Now he needed to get to Vin before the Metal Heads broke into his building.

Alex used a High Jump to get to the top of the hill to his left. From his new vantage point, he could see over the rest of the quarry floor and its many conveyors and containers. Fortunately, if his plan worked out alright, he wouldn't have to cross any of that dangerous territory.

The Interference turned to his right, directly facing the administrative building. He ran across a bridge connecting to the next hill, which was more or less adjacent to the raised platform.

It was now or never. From here, the platform was pretty high up, but Alex was almost certain he could make it…

He jumped. His Growth ability took him up to… just level with the platform. From there, Alexander used his Aerial Dodge to move closer and gain just a little bit of extra height. Of course, this sent him spinning in midair, not quite able to see where he was going. As he spun and approached the platform, his feet actually caught along the metal edge of the structure.

His momentum carried him straight down, and his face impacted the floor with a solid THUD. His Morph Gun bounced off the ground and skidded out in front of him.

"Ow…"

Alex didn't have to get up to know that the Metal Heads on the platform had noticed his pratfall. Already, the monsters were charging toward him. Four Grunts, judging by the sounds.

He'd had enough. Alex just looked up, gestured toward the approaching Metal Heads, and intoned, "_Thundaga_." A bolt of lightning struck the foremost Metal Head, creating an electric shockwave that hit the others as well. For good measure, Alex cast the spell a second time and all but eliminated the group of enemies. Several skull gems scattered across the platform.

Now that he had some room, Alexander got up and dashed toward his gun. This turned out to be a timely action, because a burst of Dark Eco occurred at the corner he'd occupied just a moment before. There were two Metal Jackets flying in the air near the platform, hovering over the vast canyon.

It was definitely time for more gunplay.

Alexander grabbed the Blaster, fired at the last Metal Head Grunt, and aimed at the two large, hornet-like Metal Jackets. As soon as the laser sight came close to the flying enemies, they started twitching left and right, using their buzzing wings to swiftly dodge around. Alexander fired at one of them, but the Metal Jacket managed to dodge aside.

"Keep pulling the trigger…" Alex reminded himself aloud, and did so. But even though he was firing as often as the gun would allow, his shots always failed to hit either mark. Either the Metal Jackets dodged out of the way, or the recoil from a previous shot would throw his aim wildly off.

Yes, a gun was good for middle and long range, but that didn't mean anything if he couldn't hit his target.

A marksman, Alexander Karsath was not. Even with a laser sight helping him.

Alex stopped shooting, not wanting to waste ammo. This finally gave the Metal Jackets an opportunity to shoot back. They gathered up Dark Eco in their large, hanging tails and lobbed it at Alex. The Interference dodged to the side just in time to avoid getting caught in the impact explosions.

He now had to choose how to take these enemies down. He could probably a long-range spell like Lightning to take them down one at a time, but that was terribly inefficient for two minor enemies. Instead, Alex opted to try out one of his other new weapons.

Pressing the downward button on the back of the gun, Alexander watched as the body of the gun shifted to allow a Metal Head skull to appear at the front. It was time to fire a Peace Maker.

Figuring its controls were similar to those in the game, Alex kept the trigger held down. The gun started to shake and whirr as a ball of lightning charged up within the Metal Head skull.

"Holy crap!" Alex exclaimed as he struggled to keep the gun steady. Unlike Sig's weapon, the Peace Maker mod for the Morph Gun charged up _very_ quickly. Within a couple of seconds, there was a fully formed lightning singularity contained at the end of his gun. It was all Alex could do to double-check the laser sight one last time before letting go of the trigger.

The kick was incredible, the barrel lifting while the butt of the gun rammed painfully into Alex's shoulder. The Peace Maker shot spun through the air toward the two Metal Jackets, slightly changing its trajectory as the monsters tried to move. The lightning ball hit one of them, creating a cloud of lightning that jumped from the first Metal Head to the other one, shocking both of them for many seconds.

Alex stumbled backwards, but recovered in time to watch the Metal Jackets fall and fade away in purple light. The enemies' skull gems plummeted into the depths below.

"Holy _crap_," Alex reiterated.

The Interference hastily double-checked the platform to make sure there weren't any other enemies nearby. Thankfully, he seemed to be alone in front of the building. Alexander was somewhat pleased at this, since ending the battle with a Peace Maker was certainly a high note.

Alex glanced at the ammo counter; nine out of ten rounds remaining. It was probably best to conserve that type of ammo for now. Not that he was going to rely on the Peace Maker or anything – it was clearly not an easy weapon to handle. Until he had some more real experience using and carrying this gun, he was going to have to be careful.

With one last glance at the corner of the platform, Alex sheathed his gun. The important word here was "careful."

Alexander approached the thick metal door of the building. There was a button on the right side that would open the sealed entrance, but he knew better than to just simply open it. He considered knocking, but that would probably sound like Metal Heads attacking, and he didn't want to scare the lone occupant inside.

So instead, he shouted, "Hey! Vin! The Metal Heads are gone. You can come out now!"

There was a quick scurrying sound behind the door, but it didn't open.

"Vin! Come out!" Alex shouted again.

There was just silence this time.

Alexander groaned in frustration. Giving up on his alternative approach, he stepped to one side of the door and pressed the button. The door opened up, revealing a small entrance room with many glowing monitors and controls making up a console just beyond the door. Several crates had been stacked up against the door as a barricade.

"AAH!" a grown man screamed, popping out from behind the boxes and firing his pistol haphazardly. "Stay back, stay back!"

The Interference just closed his eyes as the laser blasts continued to fire straight out the door and completely fail to find a target. Finally, he peeked around the wall and shouted, "Would you just STOP THAT? The Metal Heads are GONE. I killed them!"

"Stay back!" the man repeated, unrelenting in his pitiful assault.

"I'm not here to kill _you_!" Alexander yelled. "If I was, I'd have done so already!"

Finally, the shots ceased. Vin collapsed against one of the crates adjusted his goggles. He was a thin, white-haired man wearing a white shirt and suspenders. "Oh, friendlies? Oh, thank goodness," Vin gasped. "Well, so… wha-, where… where's the army?"

"_I'm_ the army," Alex muttered. "Torn sent me."

"What?" Vin snapped, understandably distressed. "Just you? One guy?" He fell against one of the taller crates in despair, moaning, "What do they think I'm worth?"

Alex restrained himself from groaning out loud. Yes, he was well aware of this event in the game, but being in the midst of it made his patience wear thin. "Look, just turn on the Warp Gate out here and let's get going. Before _more_ Metal Heads show up."

That last sentence seemed to get Vin's attention. Fortunately, there was a Warp Gate right outside the foreman's building. All Vin had to do was power it on from inside the station, and they immediately had a ticket back to Haven City.

But just to keep an eye on the cowardly engineer, Alexander made sure Vin went first. The man wouldn't even go in for the longest while, constantly checking to and fro for monsters (and even panicking at monsters he thought he saw but didn't really see).

Finally, after Vin had spent so much time standing in front of the Warp Gate and not proceeding, Alexander just pushed Vin inside (where he disappeared in a flash) and jumped into the Gate himself.

* * *

Alex reappeared in the Power Station, and not a moment too soon. Vin had already gone to the central console to switch off the Warp Gate from the other side. The man was understandably paranoid – nobody wanted Metal Heads to use the Warp Gates to get inside the city – but Alex could tell that this was one quirky character that would get annoying quickly in real life.

After taking a moment to calm down after the mission, Alexander approached Vin. The engineer was staring intently at the monitor in front of him, his head frequently darting left and right to track the strings of text that rolled across the screen. The text was in Precursor script, of course – Alex hadn't read a single letter of English in two years.

Vin seemed to hear Alexander's hard footsteps (not surprising given the steel-toed boots Alex was wearing), and said, "Hey, I wanna thank you for saving my butt out there at the Strip Mine."

Alex was tempted to steal Daxter's "thanks for being such a bad shot" line, since neither of the protagonists were present for this meeting. But suddenly, repeating lines he'd already memorized just seemed to easy. Could he go a whole cutscene without recycling the other heroes' dialogue?

So he just shrugged and said, "Oh, no problem." Still wanting to get some sarcasm in the conversation, he added, "It helps that you can finally tell friend from foe."

"Uh, yeah, sorry about that," Vin replied with a sheepish grin, absentmindedly typing on the console with one hand. "I'm a little jumpy these days."

Alex chuckled. "I imagine you've got good reason to be."

"Well, yeah!" Vin replied, raising his voice a little. "I mean, you _saw_ what was happening back there. They're probably tearing through that mine right now, stealing all the Eco for themselves just so WE can't have it!"

"Less Eco, less power for the shield wall protecting the city," Alexander mused aloud. And this time, the Baron wouldn't be able to sacrifice extra parts of the city like Old Sandover.

Vin nodded frantically. "And if the shield drops… well, we can all kiss our butts goodbye!"

"And none of this will matter," Alex added. The Baron's desperate deal with the Metal Heads would be moot. The Underground would have no time to find its new ruler for Haven. The city would fall under siege… and Even would reap from the darkness that ensued.

Fortunately, the city had enough Eco left to protect the city for a while; more than long enough for the events of the game to finish. They had time, and Alex was already trying to speed things up.

Forcibly shaking himself from the sudden melancholy he'd found himself in, Alexander couldn't help but notice that Vin wasn't saying anything else. "Uh, Vin?"

"Yeah?" the engineer responded.

"Got any missions for me? Anything you need me to do?"

Vin looked confused. He checked the screens, and then looked back at Alex again. "Uh, no, I don't think so…" He panicked. "Should I? Is there something I don't know?"

Alex quickly tried to calm him down. "No, no! There's nothing. If you don't see any problems, there's nothing. I just thought… Yeah, there's nothing."

Vin wasn't totally convinced, but he dropped the subject. "Y-You can report back to Torn now." And with that, he turned back toward the computer screens, intent on leaving the interaction behind him.

For his part, Alexander was now totally confused. He knew for a fact there was supposed to be another mission immediately after the Strip Mine rescue – something about destroying Metal Head eggs at the Drill Platform. There was supposed to be "a drop in Eco flow" that clued Vin into the emergency.

But apparently… There was no such event taking place. So had Alexander misinterpreted the series of events, or had something really changed as a result of his actions to make that mission disappear? Either way, it was troubling.

On the other hand, Alex was elated by the opportunity to skip this particular mission. He didn't have to go to the Drill Platform! Missions at that location were never pleasant – both in the gameplay and in the service of the Krimzon Guard. If he didn't have to go there, Alexander was more than happy to let the matter slide.

In fact, he could already see a way to take advantage of the situation. "Actually, Vin… You owe me for saving your life. I could use a favor."

Vin nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "I-I can't help you with your Eco bill."

Alex chuckled. "No, no, it's nothing like that." But his mirth quickly disappeared when he was reminded of his apartment in North Town. Had the Baron sold it off, along with all of his possessions, when he was recaptured? Realizing that was likely the case, Alexander silently cursed at his ill fortune. That had been a really nice place, even better than his apartment in Twilight Town…

Swiftly regaining his composure, Alex said, "No, I just need you to switch something on. Turn on one thing in the city that hasn't had power in a long time." Vin just looked at him, so Alex continued, "One of the Palace's support towers is in North Town. There's an access elevator inside. I need you to power it on."

Vin did a double take. "The elevator? Sheesh, that's part of the old B-Zone power grid! It hasn't worked for _years_!"

At this point, Alexander was extremely tempted to go for the "power stuff can be tricky" line, but he wasn't out of his self-imposed challenge yet. "C'mon, Vin. It can't be that… hard."

The engineer's eyes darted to the left every so often. "Uh, yes, as a matter of fact. Yes it can."

Alex frowned. "Are you telling me that turning on an old grid to power one measly elevator is too… _complicated_ for you?"

"Yes!" Vin shouted. "Well, no. I mean…!" With a scowl on his face, he turned back toward the console. "Look, do you have any idea what it would take to pull off something like that?"

In the bag. With a smug smirk, Alex said, "_Enlighten_ me."

Vin glared back at Alexander, recognized his non-verbal challenge, and stood up straight. Starting to press many buttons in sequence, he said, "I'd have to route the B-Zone conduit lines through the bypass grid, shunting past the Eco rings to connect the inductor tubes in series, then back through the outer wall insulator helix and across the resonant flux routers into the number five capacitor array. Assuming the circuits in GX75B can handle the surge, I'd need to link the phase loop lines into the primary coils, and…!"

With one great slam of buttons, Vin turned around with a great flourish and announced, "…presto, _you've got instant lift juice_!"

Alexander smiled and shook his head in mild astonishment. "…That… is definitely complicated. I gotta admit, you know your stuff, Vin."

Vin humbly waved away the praise. "Well, guys like me are nothing next to Mar. People say he made most of this stuff long ago – the shield wall system, the Eco grid…" Bringing himself back to the present, Vin said, "Anyway, to get that elevator _moving_, you gotta find and turn on all the B-Zone power boxes located in the city."

Alex nodded. "Alright. Where exactly do I find them again?"

"There are five of them!" Vin explained. "Five power boxes, all the way from here in the Industrial District to the end of the Slums. But…"

"But…?" Alexander echoed. Since he knew the answer, he decided to feign an insight. "Wait, aren't there five hidden **turbo cannons** between here and the Slums?"

Vin gulped. "Y-Yep. Right on the money. B-But if you can destroy the cannons and switch the boxes on, then I can do the rest."

Alexander simply smirked. He was definitely up for causing another city-wide alarm today. Nodding at Vin, he made his way for the Power Station's entrance.

"Just don't tell the Baron I ever saw ya!" Vin shouted after him.

Without looking back, Alex just gave him a thumbs-up and left.

* * *

Jak and Daxter had been excited at the mere _prospect_ of a prototype JET-Board. Upon entering the Stadium proper and trying out the JET-Board for themselves… they weren't disappointed.

The JET-Board, like the Morph Gun, was compactible and came in two different forms: a smaller "backpack" version that attached magnetically, and the full board itself. It was circular in shape, with many metal sheets along the top and bottom that rotated and folded over each other to allow the device to compact.

Being a hoverboard, the JET-Board kept itself about a foot off the ground and propelled itself forward automatically. Jak and Daxter were able to arrange themselves so that Daxter was situated near Jak's feet; the Ottsel was just as much a rider on the hoverboard as Jak was.

Keira was kind enough to walk the protagonists through its basic functions. It could grind on rails, it could jump higher with each consecutive jump, and it could perform a little speed boost whenever Jak and Daxter pulled off a full 360-degree spin. In no time, they were ready to perform spins, rolls, and various other tricks with their newfound equipment.

In proper tutorial fashion, it had taken some of their basic skills to even approach the entrance to the skate park within the Stadium. The park's facilities were extensive – tunnels reaching below the stonework; ramps overlooking the ground from the highest levels; grind rails along the sides of the walls, pillars, and ramps; and even rings of fire to jump through.

Keira, speaking through Jak's communicator, told them that the Stadium's systems would automatically judge their tricks and performance in the skate park. The basic challenge was 15,000 points, but there were higher goals for bronze, silver, and gold rankings in the challenge.

"_Just head on down the ramp,"_ Keira said, _"and have the automated judge follow you. Then you'll have 90 seconds to perform all the tricks you want."_

"Sounds good to me," Jak responded, holding the JET-Board under his arm. "You ready for this, Dax?"

"Ready?" Daxter said incredulously. "Buddy, I was born for stupid stunts like this! Let's rock!"

With no further ado, Jak jumped, tossed the JET-Board under his feet, and rode the hoverboard down the ramp into the skate park. But when they got to the bottom and reached the judge, what they found brought Jak to a stop.

The communicator that was supposed to be the judge, normally hovering in front of the nearest ramp, was on the ground. In pieces. From the looks of things, it had been both sliced and smashed.

As Jak dismounted from the hoverboard, his communicator flew toward the wrecked object, floating around it frantically. _"What in the world?"_ Keira exclaimed. _"Who could have done this?"_

"Problem, Jak?"

Jak and Daxter looked to the right, where the interrupting male voice had come from. What became immediately apparent was a complete suit of green armor leaning against the wall. The armor moved as Jak took notice of it. The helmet of the armor fully encapsulated the head of the wearer, making Jak wonder how anyone could see out of it at all.

As the armor shifted off the wall, Jak noticed one other odd thing about the helmet: There was no room for the wearer's ears. Krimzon Guard armor left holes open in the helmet for their naturally long ears to poke out. This one, again, fully covered the head and body. So this person had to have _really_ short ears.

"It's nothing to get upset about," the armored figure spoke again in a mocking tone. "Surely you have better things to do than impress your girlfriend with some lame-o high score. Y'know, shooting bad guys? Punching thugs? Saving the world? That's what you brooding anti-hero renegades do best, right?"

Jak was certainly confused, but now this stranger was starting to tick him off. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"Me?" the stranger said innocently. "Oh, I'm just a kid… An average, run-of-the-mill kid who happened to stumble across a magical land and gain superpowers because of it."

Concerned, Daxter leaned in toward Jak's ear. "Jak… This guy kinda sounds like…"

"_I know_," Jak said harshly, shutting Daxter up. This guy's voice… sounded too much like Alexander's. But younger.

"_What did you do to my equipment?"_ Keira demanded.

The armored young man shook his head. "Geez, do you put up with this attitude all day, Jak? You should try it my way. I've got girls practically throwing themselves at me." He seemed to get contemplative. "Although I gotta admit, your girl's quite the looker… Maybe that's her redeeming quality."

A spark of violet raced across Jak's chest. "Shut. Up. NOW."

The stranger laughed. "Aha! We've already hit the 'shut up' threshold!" He continued to laugh, but it quickly transitioned to a dark, sinister laugh. Finally, the stranger took a step forward and looked directly at Jak. "Tell you what. I came here to get that board and that girl. But it looks like we got to them at around the same time. Maybe you got here before me. But hey, I'm a sportsmanlike kind of guy…"

The figure held up a hand encased in an armored glove. The hand was enveloped in an inky black smoke for a moment, and when it dissipated… there was a dark green shield in its hand, bearing the Heartless emblem and a keyhole in the center.

Jak took a fighting stance, one hand reaching for his gun.

"Nuh-uh!" the stranger said quickly, and Jak's hand stopped. "Hey, look, we're in the middle of a skate park. There is literally _no better place_ for some awesome non-standard combat. Hold on a second…"

With a great swinging motion, the green-armored figure threw the shield high, high into the air – almost completely out of sight. Just as quickly as it had disappeared, though, it came back down. And how.

The next thing Jak knew, a great metal slab dropped out of the sky and drove itself into the ground next to the enigmatic soldier. The sound it made upon impact was extremely loud, making everybody but the armored stranger flinch.

Jak did his best to recover and get a good look at what had just been summoned. The large steel object was slightly embedded in the concrete, but even then it nearly reached the stranger's head in height. But instead of a flat piece of metal, it was curved inward… much like the shield had been. It was a dark green on the convex side and black on the concave side.

Without even looking, the stranger grabbed the large, curved object and yanked it out of the ground with surprising strength. The armored man then released its hold on the steel slab and let it fall… but instead of falling to the ground again, it came to a rest a couple of feet above the ground, floating in midair.

It was then that Jak instantly realized what this was. Now that he could see that this thing was curved downward, longer than it was wide, and colored similarly to this man's shield and armor…

This was some kind of gigantic, shield-shaped hoverboard.

"Anyway," the stranger said at last, standing in front of his creation. "Here's what I propose. You and I have one great big hoverboard battle right here in the Stadium. Your JET-Board against my Glider. Winner takes all."

Jak tried his best to look resilient. "And what if we refuse?"

The stranger just laughed again. "Then I go back to the shield and kill you with magic. And I take your girlfriend anyway."

Daxter grimaced and shot a look at his buddy. "Jak, take this punk down!"

"Gladly," Jak muttered.

"Then it's on!" the stranger announced, and jumped onto the great green Glider. As soon as his feet were firmly within the inside of the hovercraft, it seemed to come to life, moving fluidly through the air. A wide beam of green light appeared out of some sort of exhaust at the back of the Glider, prepared to propel the craft forward.

As Jak prepared his own hoverboard, the stranger cackled and declared, "May the best player win!"


	14. Missing Elements

Chapter 13  
Missing Elements

Alexander approached the clearing of the Industrial Sector where he knew the first turret would be. All he had to do was run up to it without getting shot, destroy the turret, press the button underneath, then rinse and repeat four more times while avoiding the Krimzon Guard and the supporting Heartless.

The Interference mock-sighed and drew out the Morph Gun. "The things I do for this game," he said to himself as he readied the Scatter Gun for its first test run. He'd been able to handle the rifle fairly well, but what about the shotgun?

Unfortunately, as he got closer to the security hatch proper, the turret suddenly popped out and pointed its multiple barrels in his direction. Alex thought for a second that it had detected the active Morph Gun or something, but then he wondered why he was trying to make sense of it when he was about to get shot.

Before the turret could finish aiming, Alex dashed up to it with his Quick Run and fired the Scatter Gun.

The force coming out of the gun was incredible, knocking the turret clear off its hinges with a blast of red firepower. At the same time, the shotgun slammed back into Alexander's gut, nearly bowling him over in return.

_Okay,_ he thought. _That's a shotgun._

The city-alert sirens brought him out of his reverie, and he slammed his foot on the red button that the turret had been guarding. Almost instantly, five Armored Knight-type Heartless appeared in a circle around the Lockshield Wielder.

"Ugh! No time for you guys!" Alex shouted as he headed for the nearest Zoomer he could get his hands on. If he stuck around to fight, he'd get overwhelmed in no time. Heading for the turrets was his highest priority right now.

* * *

As Jak and Daxter prepared to get on the JET-Board, the lights in the Stadium dimmed. Several red emergency lights switched on, bathing parts of the Stadium in a crimson glow.

"Hah! Perfect!" the armored stranger exclaimed, and charged forward on his Glider. Right off the bat, the enigmatic soldier caught Jak off-guard. Jak was nearly knocked over as the front of the glider crashed into him, throwing him and Daxter backwards. Thankfully, Jak managed to right himself and switch the JET-Board around so that they were traveling away from the enemy.

And so the chase was on.

Jak turned toward the nearest ramp and started grinding along the rail, hoping to put some distance between them and the stranger. But what immediately became apparent was that, despite its much larger size, the opponent's Glider was much faster than the JET-Board. The armored enemy came flying up the ramp after them, and it was all Jak could do to jump off to the ground below before they got rammed again.

The stranger continued along the upper pathways while Jak landed with relative ease, giving them a few precious seconds of peace. Just enough time to cobble together a plan of action...

Jak hovered near the edge of a half-pipe dug into the floor of the Stadium. The armored stranger flew off the raised pathways and landed a distance away on the other side. As soon as they made eye contact (somehow, through the other person's full helmet), the stranger charged toward them.

Daxter, barely more than a passenger along for the ride, only caught on to what Jak had planned at the last second. "Jak, what are you doing- WAIT, DON'T...!"

Jak performed a horizontal spin on the JET-Board. When he landed, the speed boost from the trick propelled him forward. Right at the edge of the half-pipe, he jumped up.

The two vehicles collided against each other and dropped into the half-pipe. Jak immediately spun around and tried to ram the stranger, but he was deflected and sent backwards. The stranger retaliated by charging forward with the intention of ramming Jak, but the hero barely managed to swerve out of the way. A chaotic, weaving dance of sorts ensued within the half-pipe, the two crafts bouncing off each other as the two combatants tried to catch the other off guard.

Finally, as they charged toward each other one more time, Jak jumped up and landed a hefty kick into the enemy's chest before landing back on the JET-Board. While the stranger staggered, Jak rode his hoverboard up to the lip of the half-pipe and got back up to the Stadium floor.

Shortly afterward, the armored stranger was riding up after him. It wasn't long before Jak found himself hounded once again, just barely managing to stay ahead of the faster vehicle.

They came to a series of flaming rings, suspended a few feet off the ground. Desperately wanting to gain some distance, Jak jumped through each one in succession, performing tricks for good measure.

When he looked back, he saw that the rings had all been knocked down by the enemy's large hoverboard. Instead of performing any acrobatics like Jak had, the enemy had apparently plowed through the flimsy hoops. The stranger seemed to be on fire, but there was no reaction to the flames on the armor.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Daxter exclaimed.

Jak looked back in front and noticed he was coming up on a quarter-pipe. Thinking quickly, he sped up with a horizontal spin and charged into the quarter-pipe, with the enemy right behind him.

"Daxter, hold on!" Jak shouted as they launched into the air. Daxter scrambled off the JET-Board and held onto Jak's leg for dear life.

At the apex of their jump, Jak disembarked from the JET-Board. He grabbed the board with both hands and – just as the stranger was rushing up from the quarter-pipe to meet them – smashed the bottom of the board into the armored enemy's body. As he did so, the propulsion system – reacting to the sudden impact against a solid surface – emitted an impressive blue pulse of force.

The result of this midair strike was simple: The armored enemy slammed straight down to the ground, the Glider crashing down to the side. Jak landed on his feet at the top of the quarter-pipe, with Daxter still clinging onto his leg.

Jak smirked and lifted his leg a little, looking at the Ottsel hanging onto his leg for dear life. "I warned you this time," he pointed out.

"Real funny," Daxter muttered, finally jumping onto solid ground.

Jak gave the JET-Board a glance. Just the fact that it was a hoverboard was cool enough, but this item was turning out to be a real keeper.

The red emergency lights of the Stadium switched back to the regular ones, bathing the skate park in its usual lighting.

After a few moments, the green knight beneath them groaned and pushed himself up. "W-Wow," the stranger said with a cough. "Guess that was a bad idea, huh?" Getting to his feet, he added, "Thought for sure I had you on that dinky little board there..."

"Ha!" Daxter shouted. "That's whatcha get for messin' with Daxter and his trusty sidekick!"

Jak facepalmed at the comment, but the stranger just laughed. "Oh, really?" the armored opponent said incredulously. "You think you're the hero of this story now? Hate to break it to ya, but your story's been hijacked by one of the audience. You're BOTH sidekicks now."

"Oh YEAH? Well..." Daxter started. But then he stopped and looked up at Jak. "Wait, did that make _any_ sense?"

The Glider on the ground faded away in a massive cloud of darkness. The armored enigma just shrugged and turned away. "Whatever. I'm done with this. The bossman ain't gonna be happy, but I lost fair and square."

That got Jak's attention. "Who _is_ your boss?" he asked, jumping down from the quarter-pipe to catch up with the stranger.

The stranger looked back over his shoulder. Even though his face was completely obscured, Jak could tell the stranger was smirking under the helmet. "What if I don't tell you?" the stranger asked in a goading tone.

Jak placed the JET-Board on his back and drew out the Morph Gun.

The armored enigma just laughed. "Look, buddy. I wanted a hoverboard battle because it was so goddamn appropriate. If we were to actually battle..."

In the stranger's hand, a shield with a keyhole appeared out of an inky black smoke. At the same time, a great portal of darkness rose up behind the stranger.

"You'd die in a matter of moments," the stranger finished, and stepped backwards into the darkness.

The portal dissipated, and that was the end of the encounter. Jak and Daxter were alone in the Stadium.

Daxter put a palm over his eyes. "Ugh. I hate it when bad guys play that 'enigma' card."

"Isn't this the first time we've had a bad guy like that?" Jak asked. "Gol and Maia were pretty upfront about it."

The Ottsel thought about it for a second. "Yeah, but I still hate it," Daxter replied.

Jak's communicator came to life, floating around the two. "Jak! Daxter! Are you alright?" Keira asked through the device.

Daxter grinned and took a bow from Jak's shoulder. "No worries, fair princess! The invader has been successfully _repelled_ by yours truly."

The communicator turned towards Jak. "Thank you," she said, clearly knowing who the real hero was. "Come on back to the Garage. …You can bring the JET-Board with you."

Jak and Daxter smirked at each other.

* * *

When they got back to the Garage, Jak was immediately greeted with a running glomp from Keira, squeezing him tightly. "That was _amazing_!" Keira shouted. "I knew my prototype was good, but you pushed its capabilities past anything I'd ever expected!"

Daxter barely escaped getting crushed by Keira's arms around Jak's neck. Jumping off to the workbench, he glared at the cute couple and shouted, "Hey! When do I get _my_ hug?"

Keira released the hug and shot Daxter a wide grin. "When you finally find someone who appreciates your…" She thought for a moment. "…personality."

"Feh," Daxter scoffed, folding his arms and looking away. "For the record, I'm fine, thanks for asking."

The mechanic looked at Jak. "How _are_ you?" she asked, genuinely concerned. "It looked to me like he was out for your guts."

Jak laughed. "That guy? Weird, yeah. Crazy, yeah. Dangerous?" He held up one hand in a 'so-so' gesture. "I'm still figuring that one out."

Keira couldn't help but chuckle in return. "Well, weird and crazy come with the territory."

They laughed for a little longer, but then Jak paused and took on a contemplative expression. "The guy brought up a few questions, though…"

"What'd he say?" Keira inquired.

Jak waved a hand dismissively. "It's not just what he said. It was how he looked. How his weapon looked."

Daxter jumped back onto Jak's shoulder. "WE have a few questions to ask our friend, the know-it-all." Jak gave an affirmative nod and headed for the exit to the race garage.

"Wait," Keira called to them, stopping the duo for a moment. She sighed in resignation and said, "I found a maintenance elevator in the base of one of the Palace's support towers. That old lift might take you up to the Palace, _if_ you can find a way to turn on the elevator's power."

Jak nodded. "Thanks."

Keira walked over to the duo and knocked Jak lightly on the head. "And you didn't _ask_, but I'll let you keep the JET-Board as long as you're working for the Underground."

Jak grinned sheepishly and nodded again. "Thanks again. I'll keep an ear out for the Heart of Mar, Time Map, Rift Gate, and… your father."

"Be careful," Keira warned them as they walked out.

* * *

Using his Quick Run alone, Alexander weaved through the Slums and ducked into the alley where the Underground Hideout was hidden. He was breathing a little hard, but he honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd experienced such a rush.

A wide grin split the young man's face as the Hideout wall opened up, allowing Alexander to go down the stairs leading to the Underground's base of operations. As expected, Torn was inside, staring at a map.

The ex-Commander didn't so much as lift his head as he spoke. "I remember sending you to rescue Vin. I heard you were successful. Now… how does that translate to _shooting up all the turrets between there and the Water Slums_?"

Alex didn't lose his grin. Torn's 'what the hell' tone might've frightened him in the Guard, but out here it was his game. "What? I'm not allowed to cause a little trouble between missions? Have a little fun?"

Torn sighed and finally looked up. "You're not the type to just 'have fun.'"

"Oh, but it was **glorious**!" Alexander interrupted, his eyes lighting up at the memory. "Half a dozen KG Zoomers chasing me through the city. A platoon of Heartless at every turret. And there I was, blasting them with spells and gunfire left and right." He allowed himself a moment of pure glee. "It was SO _COOL_!"

Torn stood up straight. "Alex, you don't do _anything_ without a clear purpose in mind. You might get your kicks along the way, but with you the plan always comes first."

Alex tried to keep smiling, but sighed a little. The ex-Commander had him there.

Sensing that he'd won the argument, Torn glared at Alexander and growled, "Now are you going to stop this childish game and tell me what your plans are?"

Now the joy was gone. Torn and he had a special agreement – that Alex would use his knowledge openly to give their side the edge – but there was a reason he was withholding this information. "You're not gonna like it."

"I'll be the judge of that," Torn muttered, but the expression on his face showed that he already didn't like it. The only question was how much dislike there would be.

Alexander took a deep breath and said, "I was restoring power to an elevator in one of the support towers. Pretty soon, we're gonna storm the Palace."

Torn's face twitched – his jaw didn't drop, but it most certainly wanted to. "Tell me this is necessary."

"We're not gonna break anything big," Alex assured him. "Just gonna get in, eavesdrop on a negotiation, kick Praxis butt, and get out."

For a brief moment, Torn was incredulous. "From the _support beams_? How do you- No, what, no. Forget it. Do what you have to do…" He slammed a hand down on the map in front of him. "…but I have a job for you first. And I'll bet you already know what it is."

Alex nodded. "Ashelin. At the Pumping Station. Make sure she's alright. …Does she know?"

Torn took a moment to think, apparently checking his mental list of 'people who know.' It was probably a small list. "…Yes."

"Alrighty then," Alex mumbled in return. Then his KG communicator started beeping. "Hold on…" he said as he fished the device out of his pocket and flipped it open. "Y'ello'?"

"_We need to talk,"_ Jak's voice cut through the tiny speakers.

"Uh, maybe later," Alexander said nervously. "Torn's got me doing another mission. Right after this one, though, we should have time to meet up. Does that work?"

"…_Yeah, sure,"_ came the reply. _"Looks like Krew has another job for us anyway."_

"Alright! See ya then," the Interference said before closing the communicator. He let out a sigh of relief. "Take a wild guess what he wants to talk about."

Torn rolled his eyes. "How did you survive doing this three times?"

Alex shot back a parting grin as he headed for the door. But he didn't say anything.

* * *

Krew wasn't anywhere to be found. Not initially. But the Hip Hog Heaven wasn't empty. There was a blonde woman working at the bar.

Naturally, when the duo approached, Daxter hopped right off and gave her his smarmiest smile. "Hey, sugarplum. You new here?" he greeted her, laying on as much charm as he could muster. "Well, whatcha got that's, uh, _hot_... and..."

It was then that Daxter finally got a good look at the woman he was hitting on. The charm disappeared and a suspicious look took its place. "Wait, I've seen you before! You're with the Underground!"

Tess placed two fingers on Daxter's lips to keep him quiet, causing a wide smile to grow across the Ottsel's face. "Ssh! I'm Tess. Torn sent me to spy on Krew. Play along, and I may be able to get my hands on a few of Krew's secrets."

Immediately, Daxter's charm was back. "Ooh! I love 'undercover' work, baby," he said, pointing down at Tess's chest. "But, uh... _two_ can work better than _one_." Looking down behind the counter and making a grabby motion with his hands, he said, "Let me help you out."

Tess giggled as Daxter jumped down behind the counter. A couple of bottles broke, and the sounds of an Ottsel gulping down massive amounts of liquid could be heard by Tess and Jak, who gave each other a glance. To Jak's surprise, Tess seemed more amused than anything else by Daxter's antics.

As Daxter continued to sample the wares, Jak noticed Krew floating nearby. Tess returned to work wiping down the counter.

"Jak," Krew declared as he floated toward them, "I need you and the talking rat to make a few collections for me."

Daxter, thoroughly drunk, popped up from behind the counter and gave Krew a lop-sided grin. "Hey there, fivvve chiinns..." he slurred, "how's crimes?"

Jak fought back a laugh, but Krew didn't seem to catch on. "What's _his_ problem, eh?"

"Nothin'," Daxter growled. He fought to get on his feet (and stay there). "I'm just fine. Mind yer own business." A hiccup sent the Ottsel onto his back. The grimace instantly switched to a grin, and Daxter began to sing.

Krew decided to ignore the rodent as he hit all the wrong high notes. "Listen, _ahhhh_, I have six clients around town who are about to make money drops for me. I need you to collect each moneybag as fast as you can, and TAKE CARE of any guards who get curious, _hmmm_? Get to a moneybag too late, and some townie might pick it up."

"...feeling so DRYYYYYYYY!" Daxter screamed, hitting one last horrible note in his song. The Ottsel sat up and stared at Krew with a lazy expression. "Ya know what's the trouble with you, Krew...?" Daxter mumbled. "Ya got no vision..."

He gestured at the saloon as a whole. "Dis place could be a real swingin' joint... Hop Heg Hiven with more dancin', more mackin', more WOMEN...!"

Krew just shook his head dismissively as Daxter slumped against Jak. "Just bring all 14 moneybags before they disappear and bring them back here."

Jak tried his best to keep Daxter from kissing him on the face, while the Ottsel proclaimed his love and appreciation before collapsing over Jak's shoulder.

"If you lose even one bag, then don't come back, 'ey!"

* * *

Fortunately, Alexander wasn't hassled by Krimzon Guards or Heartless on the short trek between the Hideout and the security gate to the Pumping Station. The logic from the game still seemed to hold true; as long as he didn't impact any Krimzon Guards with his vehicle, he could simply fly by unnoticed. Which was good, since Alex had pretty much experienced his fill of fighting for the moment in the "take out the turrets" mission.

Alex adjusted the leather belt keeping the Morph Gun's holster attached to his body. He was _really_ liking the new addition to his arsenal, even though he'd resisted it before. He'd already tried out the Scatter Gun, Blaster, and Peace Maker, so now he was just waiting for the opportunity to try the last remaining weapon mod.

Like on the group of Heartless that were waiting on the other side of the security gate, apparently.

"Oh, so it's normal rules outside the city, huh?" Alexander pointed out, reaching for his new weapon once again. "You guys just don't let up..."

Alex looked over the group. Shadows, two Wizards, and a... Defender. The little guys weren't going to be a huge issue, but the Wizards could cast powerful magic, and the Defender's huge lion-faced shield could shrug off damage. This was going to be a little more complicated than the groups in the city...

The Shadows jumped forward into the transfer room. Not wanting to get caught battling in the cramped space so close to the city, Alexander used Quick Run to dash past the main group and take the fight onto the sand outside.

After putting some distance between them, Alexander switched the Morph Gun to the Vulcan Fury mod and flipped it over. The gun transformed into its low-hanging machine gun form, with a laser sight right below the business end of the weapon.

Alex pulled on the trigger, and the barrel began to spin. Bright blue energy stabbed through the air, piercing a few of the Shadows in the group and destroying them. The Wizards responded with a fire and ice attack aimed straight at him. Alexander tried to dodge, but attempting to do so while still holding onto the heavy machine gun slowed him down, and he ended up taking the attacks head-on.

"Argh!" he yelled after he was burned and frozen by the attacks. He let go of the the trigger and regained his composure. "Still gonna need practice, apparently...!" He backed up a little to avoid a Shadow's claw attack, and muttered, "Let's mix things up a little. _Magnega_!"

An orb of swirling dark energy appeared in the middle of the enemy group, drawing all except the Defender into the center and spinning them around. Alex immediately followed up the spell with a volley of Vulcan Fury fire, the laser sight allowing him to fire directly into the Magnet spell and hit all the Heartless there. One by one, the trapped Heartless dissipated.

_I might not be all that accurate, but I can control where the targets are!_

The spell finally came to an end, revealing that the Defender was still intact (and, according to Alexander's Scan ability, undamaged). Alex pointed the gun in the monster's direction and fired, but each shot of blue bounced off the gigantic shield.

Alexander released the trigger, and the Vulcan Fury spun down to a halt. The lion face on the shield actually _sneered_ back at him.

"Oh, real funny," Alex muttered. He switched the Morph Gun back to its dormant form and reholstered it on his back. In an instant, the Heartless Seal Lockshield was in his hand. "Fine. Let's do this shield versus shield!"

Alex ran up to the monster until he was within striking distance. The Defender made a move then, thrusting forward with the front of its shield. But Alexander, anticipating the attack, dodged to the side and dashed around to the Heartless's back. A quick flurry of slashing attacks found their mark on the Defender's exposed body, and a finishing bash sent it dissipating into the air, freeing a pink heart into the sky.

"Alright!" Alexander shouted to the open air. "Who wants to fight me now?"

In response, two more Defender's appeared further down the beach.

Alex slumped forward and sighed. "Oh, come on."

* * *

But even with all the Heartless interruptions throughout the Pumping Station, Alexander still remembered exactly where to go for this mission. A set of massive pistons on the large platform between the individual islands – ones that hadn't been active on previous visits – was now pumping up and down, creating the perfect set of rising platforms to reach the tall island plateau above it.

Alexander hopped up, walked forward up a little hill, and took stock of his surroundings. All along the edges of the plateau were trees, bushes, and other greenery, growing out over the cliffs. The hill rose up a little further and took a dip to the right, where it ended at a clearing just before the other edge of the small plateau. In the center of that clearing was a small pedestal, and a KG Hellcat vehicle was parked right behind it. The sun was beginning to set in the sky, casting the entire area in a red-orange light.

And that was about all Alex had time to take in before there was a loud THUMP, an arm wrapped tightly around his neck, and the barrel of a pistol pressed against the side of his head.

"Who the hell are _you_?" a female voice questioned him.

Alexander, more than a little off balance in the woman's tight grip, could only hold up his hands defensively. "Alex Karsath. Torn sent me."

There was a moment's hesitation, and the pistol pressed a little harder. "Prove it."

The Interference took a small breath to steady himself, then summoned the Lockshield to his right hand. He made sure that the face of the Heartless Seal was pointed at his captor.

Instantly, he was released. Alex stumbled forward and turned around to face Ashelin. She looked... exactly how he expected her to look. Red dreadlocks, tight-fitting jacket and jeans, KG facepaint, and several holsters and ammo belts adorning her arms, hips, and legs.

Ashelin didn't put away her pistol, but she looked slightly relieved. "Alex," she said. "It's been..."

"A year," Alex muttered, his eyes narrowing a little.

"I thought you were dead," Ashelin said immediately. "We all did."

"Might as well have been," Alexander remarked. He threw his hands up and added, "Hey, I don't blame you. It's your father... and Erol... and definitely Even."

Ashelin finally holstered her weapon and walked toward the Hellcat. "You probably hate them immensely for what they did to you. Torn told me."

Alex looked back behind him, where there was much higher hill overlooking their clearing. There was just more trees and shrubbery up there. "Yeah... Plenty."

"You and Even have completely changed things," Ashelin said forcefully, without turning around to face him. "And not just because of the Heartless on both sides of this war."

Alex kept his eyes on the hill. There wasn't so much as a rustling. "Yeah..." He glanced back at Ashelin over his shoulder. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

The Baron's daughter turned around and placed a hand on the pedestal. There was a orange metal emblem of Mar set upon the stone, the bladed yin-yang symbol shining brightly in the setting sun.

"Going through the motions for Even's benefit," Ashelin replied simply, before turning back to the Hellcat and taking a seat.

Alex was now very concerned and confused. There were supposed to be Metal Heads here. There was supposed to be a Metal Head attack right about now. Ashelin was behaving totally differently from how she acted in the game.

Ashelin gestured toward the seat next to her. "Come on! I'll give you a ride back into the city. I'll explain along the way."

_Now __**I**__ need explanations?_

The Interference ran over to the Hellcat as it fired up, the vehicle kicking dust in all directions. Alex barely had time to settle into his seat before Ashelin took off, leaving the Pumping Station island far behind in a matter of moments.

Once they were clear and high enough to pass over the wall, Ashelin slowed down a bit so that the rushing wind and the engine wouldn't drown her out. "Even's gotten desperate since you two escaped!"

"Glad to know he misses me!" Alex joked with a completely serious expression.

"He's been slipping," Ashelin continued, "showing his hand and making bad plays! Now the Metal Heads have caught on to his schemes, and they're no longer working together!"

Alex grinned. "Good! If the two of them are fighting each other, that's less work for us!"

Ashelin gave him a look that was far less mirthful. "The Metal Heads are losing! They don't have the power to fight back!"

Alex's grin fell. That was less-than-great news. If the Heartless were tearing into the Metal Heads, then that would only mean more Heartless to fight. And of course the Metal Heads would be losing – the Heartless were more or less invincible without a Keyblade wielder (or equivalent) on your side.

Ashelin looked ahead again and said, "As far as Even's concerned, him and my father are still allies! But that's going to change soon!"

Alexander went wide-eyed. "You can't do that! You'll get slaughtered too!"

Ashelin just looked at Alexander.

"Oh, hell no!"

"We know about the Lockshield!" Ashelin stated. "If you help us...!"

Alex turned away and slammed his head back against his seat. "Dammit!"

Ashelin said nothing more, and sped up the Hellcat Zoomer. Most of a minute was spent in uncomfortable silence as they flew high above Haven City. In that time, Alex struggled with an internal conflict between his better nature and his hatred for the Baron.

He wasn't finished by the time they landed in South Town, near the Port. Ashelin tossed him a KG pass with Yellow clearance. "For your friend!" she said as they came to a hover just above the ground.

Alex caught the tag and pocketed it. Still grimacing, he wordlessly disembarked from the Hellcat and stepped onto solid ground.

Ashelin turned the engine down a little so she could speak. "Think about it," Ashelin implored him. "When you decide to help us, meet us in the Palace. Your security clearance has been re-raised to Purple." She then fired the engine up again. "Welcome back, Alex!"

The Hellcat took off into the air, leaving Alexander with only his thoughts and a spare security pass. There was a single-seat Zoomer nearby, but Alex decided to take the time to walk. The sun was continuing to set, creating a brilliant effect between the light reflecting off the water and the shadows cast by the towers of the shield wall.

Alex sighed quietly. A moment of peace and tranquility. And then he had to explain to Jak and Daxter the truth about the game world. And then they had to go visit the Palace one way or another. This day just wasn't getting any better, was it?

* * *

Jak dropped the moneybags onto the bar. It'd taken a lot of gunfire, chasing Zoomers, and at least one explosion, but the job was done.

Tess didn't seem to be around right now, so she was either in the back of the saloon or reporting back to Torn at the Hideout. There was a black piece of tech on the bar as well – apparently, a Morph Gun mod. And it looked very similar to one of the upgrades they'd already applied...

Krew floated down behind them. "Mmm, quite the money collectors, eh? Here's a gun upgrade." He turned away and started fanning himself. "Now get out! I need my beauty nap."

Daxter rolled his eyes. "Trust me, brother. There aren't enough hours in the day."

Jak inspected the gun upgrade for a moment, then tried fitting it into the weapon. The slot it was supposed to enter was already occupied by a duplicate. "Actually, Krew..." he said hesitantly. "We already have this."

Krew spun around quickly. "WHAT?"

Jak tapped the upgrade against the gun.

"How did you...?" Krew started, but stopped when the door to the saloon opened once again. Alexander Karsath stepped through.

He immediately found the slimy crime boss floating in front of his face. "I suppose _you_ had something to do with this," Krew snarled.

Alex looked past Krew (not an easy feat), and saw Jak with the superfluous gun mod. "Uh... Maybe?" he said sheepishly. "What's to get angry about?"

Krew poked a stubby finger into Alex's chest and leaned in very closely. "You still need me," he muttered in a low, raggedy tone. "Without my connections... You're nothing but _trash_."

Surprising himself, Alex managed to put on a serious expression and raise an eyebrow at the disgusting crime leader. "Sure we are. And we'll help you out... for information." He glared hard into Krew's beady eyes. "Like what Even's up to."

Krew poked him once more. "Don't get too comfortable. _Everyone's_ expendable." He then floated up and out of sight, leaving the three heroes alone in the bar.

Jak walked over to Alex, who tossed him the security pass. "That'll get you into the Bazaar district," the Interference said. "Now c'mon, let's get going."

The duo looked at each other for a second. "Going where, exactly?" Daxter asked.

Alex looked back at them. "You want to talk? Now that you have that pass, I have the perfect place in mind."

* * *

It took a little while to locate the tent hidden away in the Bazaar district. They ended up having to use Jak's mini-map to find the place (since there was a convenient tent-shaped marker pointing them towards it). By the time they arrived, the sun had mostly set, meaning that all the street lights were on.

Jak looked up at the faded skull emblem on the tent, then back at Alexander. "This. This is the place you wanted to talk at?"

Alexander nodded. "I've never been here before, but it should demonstrate pretty well what I'm about to tell you." He walked inside, and Jak followed.

Despite the size of the tent, there wasn't a whole lot of standing room inside. Boxes, crates, and bottles of various sizes and contents filled the perimeter of the tent, along with furniture, rugs, and several tribal-looking souvenirs. The tent was lit by a couple of candles in the center and a large stone head glowing purple in the back. The place smelled of incenses and earth, and it was more humid than the almost-night air outside.

In the center of the room, a frail old woman sat cross-legged, apparently deep in meditation. A wide bowl was attached to the top of her head. And just to Jak's left, hanging from one of the wooden supports above, was a multi-colored cross between a monkey and a macaw.

Daxter, mistaking the latter for usual South Town wares, poked the Moncaw on the mouth. "Hey, check out all the dead stuff!"

The Ottsel got his finger bitten for his effort. "OW!"

"Touch the goods again, rat boy," the creature raged with a hispanic accent, "and you'll be – _arrrk_ – counting with your toes!"

The red-yellow-blue Moncaw swung from where it was hanging with its tail, flew up to the top of the tent, and dropped into the bowl on the old woman's head. "I... am... _Peck-errr_!" it said, trying to pronouncing the name in a fancy way.

Daxter grinned and nudged Jak with his elbow, while Jak himself stifled a laugh. Alexander went ahead and chuckled out loud, but then felt bad about being amused by the crude humor.

"Yes, yes, I know..." Pecker muttered, his dramatic flair gone. "My mother, she was... very vindictive." Moving on with a wave and a bow, he said, "I am Onin's interpreter."

The old woman's eyes opened. They were completely white. She clapped her hands together, and a spray of glowing blue dust filled the air around her. She then began to make symbolic hand gestures, which Pecker proceeded to translate: "Onin welcomes you, blah blah blah blah blah, the usual boring salutations."

Pecker observed Onin for a second more, then said, "She says it is good to see you again, Jak."

This caught Jak off guard. "But we've never met before..."

"Before, after, it is all the same," Pecker stated smugly.

"Oh! Oh! Let me try!" Daxter interrupted, cutting off Pecker before he could continue. Daxter studied Onin's hand motions intently and said, "Ahh... She wants a... She wants a yakow bone! A yakow bladder! No, no, I got it! _For many moons, she has... waited for..._ a juice pop? A jewel shop?"

Pecker was near the end of his patience, so he flew off Onin and perched on a nearby stool.

"Oh, oh, I know!" Daxter continued. "She's got a hairball! A hair lip! A hairy chest!"

"Close..." Pecker said nonchalantly, before showing the extent of his anger: "but NO! Onin says you seek answers – _arrrk_ – about the Tomb of Mar." At this point, Onin traced the symbol of the House of Mar into the air in bright blue, and the image stayed for a few seconds before fading away.

Jak folded his arms. "Uh, no... We came here looking for answers about this guy," he interjected, jabbing his thumb at the young man standing next to him.

Onin's hand gestures stopped, and silence reigned in the tent for an awkward second. Alex then found himself being _glared at_ through the blank white eyes of the impossibly old seer.

Pecker tapped his claw-foot against the stool. "Alexander..." he said in a scolding tone. "You didn't tell them."

"Good, you _do_ know about me..." Alex said quietly.

"Of course we know!" Pecker shouted suddenly. "When you arrived, Onin just went on and on for DAYS about the Interference event! Do you know how hard it is to sell trinkets when a seer sees something that big?"

Alex raised an eyebrow.

Pecker glanced to the side. "And yes, the existential drama was very traumatic," he added sarcastically, with a dismissive wave of his wing.

Jak looked to Onin and then Alexander. "So, is this it? Are we finally going to get the truth about you?"

"You should," Pecker said before Alex could reply. "You're literally the last people to get in the loop."

Alex winced as Jak shot him a glare. "Not. Helping. _Pecker_."

"Then you'd better get started!" Pecker retorted.

"Alright!" Alexander shouted. "...Alright."

He steeled himself and looked directly at Jak and Daxter. "I..." He faltered and looked away. "This world... I come from a world where _this_ world only existed in a video game."

Daxter narrowed his eyes. "A video game," he repeated, unconvinced. "Really."

Jak's expression didn't change, except that he seemed to be waiting for more.

Onin started making more hand gestures. Pecker observed and stated, "Onin says that an Interference is someone who makes one of those fictional worlds real and becomes part of that world."

Alex nodded. "See? I know so much about this place, about you guys, because I've played the games and seen all the relevant information. I know where this story's coming from, and I know where it's going."

But he could see that neither Jak nor Daxter were buying it. Not completely.

The young man lowered his head for a moment to think, and then looked directly at the dynamic duo one more time. "My powers? They come from other game worlds I've been to. I have different sets of powers because I've been through several different game worlds. Kingdom Hearts. Fullmetal Alchemist. Chrono Trigger. And now I'm in yours: Jak and Daxter. You guys are the main characters.

"I know everything about you. I know that Daxter's an Ottsel because he fell into a pool of Dark Eco. I know he fell into that pool of Dark Eco because of an explosion Jak caused by throwing a Precursor artifact at a Lurker while you were on Misty Island off the shores of your home of Sandover 200 years ago. I know that Daxter becoming an Ottsel caused you two to go on your first journey, which ended up becoming a quest to stop Gol and Maia from taking over the world or something."

Alex turned toward Pecker and Onin. "I know that right now, you two were planning on sending us to the Precursor Temple outside the city to retrieve three artifacts. Them, combined with the three pieces of the Seal of Mar, would allow us to locate and enter the Tomb of Mar. But we don't need any of those things. I have alchemy, and I already know where the freakin' Tomb of Mar is. We can open that thing whenever we darn well please."

The hut fell silent. Even Onin seemed shocked.

Jak's arms unfolded and returned to his sides. After a few seconds, he said, "And you… know all this… because…"

Alex turned toward Jak. "Because I played the game. I saw this entire story play out, over and over again. And unless I work to change the future, it's going to happen exactly the way I expect it to."

Daxter cocked his head to one side. "So, wait, you're a time traveler?"

Instantly, the tension in the room deflated. "Dammit, Dax…" Alex muttered.

"I kid, I kid!" Daxter said quickly. "Not many guys know how I became a two-foot-tall hunk of fur. And not _enough_ people know that it's all Jak's fault," he added, jabbing his little shoulder into his partner's neck.

Jak breathed deeply for a moment, ignoring Daxter. "Alright, let me get this straight. You made our game real. Then you got here the same time we did, two years ago?"

Alex paled a little. "That was… a fluke. I didn't mean to come here so soon, but it was a valid part of the timeline, and… I got stuck." He swallowed. "Worst mistake of my life."

"So why did you do it?" Jak asked. "Why have you kept on doing this multiple times?"

"Part of it is Even and his group of dark apprentices," Alex explained. "I gotta go to worlds like this to draw them out, so I can take them down. But… the key factor is that part of me _wanted_ to be in this world, to make it real. Not to control your lives or anything, but to just… be a part of the action, with you guys. That's how it happens – by wanting it enough to give it a part of you in exchange."

Alex threw his hands to the sides. "Now you know."

Jak put a hand to his forehead and shook his head. "So what happens now?"

As Onin began making motions, Pecker interrupted by saying, "Onin says the Interference only has true power over the initial creation. Beyond that, they only have their own strength and will to effect change within the world."

Daxter looked to Alex. "Can we translate the translator?"

"He means that I'm not some sort of creator-god thing," Alex pointed out. "Everything I've accomplished beyond _getting here_, I've done under my own power." He folded his arms and gave Jak a half-smile. "And moving forward, that's how it'll continue to be. Exactly the same as before, but now you know that I have tons of information at my disposal."

Jak glanced out the hut. "That doesn't answer my question. What do we do now?"

Alex frowned. "Now?"

He thought back to Ashelin, and her invitation to come to the Palace and join the Baron's cause against Even. He had Purple-level clearance now; they could just walk right in.

He then thought about Vin, and how there was now an access elevator they could use to sneak into the Palace and get the drop on Praxis. And if there was a boss battle at the end of that, as Alex expected, they could kick the Baron's butt.

Alex grinned. "How would you like to raid the Palace, right this minute?"


	15. Strange Tidings

Chapter 14  
Strange Tidings

Despite his decision, Alexander was already having second thoughts on their way to the transition between the Slums and North Town.

He had a direct invitation from the Baron's daughter to go into the Palace peacefully. And if what Ashelin had to say about the Heartless, Metal Heads, and Krimzon Guard was true, then... against all reason, taking that invitation was _probably the most responsible thing to do_.

But he had his doubts. That's what he kept telling himself.

"So, this is supposed to be what we do next, right?" Jak asked. They had reached one of the Palace's support towers, and had parked next to the security door at the base of the structure.

As they disembarked from their two respective Zoomers, Alexander said, "We're skipping a few missions, so we might actually be doing this a little early."

He looked toward the sky. The golden sunset was fading away, leaving only the purple and dark blues of the impending twilight.

"Or not," Alex added lamely.

Jak and Daxter led the way up the ramp to the thick steel security door, which slowly opened for them. Inside was a single elevator shaft, wide enough to take up most of the interior of the tower's space. A large cargo lift lowered down to their level as the door closed behind them, and the trio stepped on.

Then the elevator platform _slammed_ upward, speeding up through the shaft at an insane pace, the walls _whooshing_ past them, before coming to a rest at the very top. The group caught a little air as they took longer to decelerate than the elevator.

Alex quickly got off the platform and rested his hands on his knees. "HATE those elevators. How does anyone...?"

But Jak and Daxter weren't paying attention to the erratic elevator. They were looking out directly ahead.

Another security door had opened up in front of them. Hanging directly beneath the door was a massive metal cable stretching from the tower to the Palace. There were a few such cables and towers keeping the top-heavy Palace from falling over into the city. It was the sort of stylized architecture you'd expect from a video game, but in reality it was just ridiculous.

Unfortunately, this cable was their one bridge onto the upper level of the Palace. Flat platforms surrounded the cable on the tops and sides for maintenance access, but it was also guarded by spinning electric blades, electrified panels, rotating blocks that had spikes on half their sides, and the occasional security turret. Not to mention that there were gaps in the platforms and no guard rails to speak of, making a skyscraper-high drop unpleasantly likely.

"**THIS** WAS YOUR PLAN?" Daxter shouted.

Alex winced. The front door was starting to look like a better idea...

He shook his head. They weren't going to do that. He looked at Daxter and said, "What, you want to turn back now? After all the trouble I went through to make this possible?"

Daxter folded his arms and scowled at the Interference. "You probably totally enjoyed it!"

"I'm not turning back," Jak interrupted. "This is our chance to get at the Baron, and I'm taking it."

Daxter put a palm over his face, then proceeded to hang on tightly to Jak's shoulder-pad. This was going to be a rough journey.

Alexander mentally steeled himself, too. Heights didn't outright terrify him so much as they did during his first adventure, but it was still a _dangerous_ drop.

* * *

Ashelin looked up at where her father sat on the throne of Haven City. "I told him, but I don't think he's going to go for it. Not right away."

Baron Praxis didn't like that news. Slamming his fist onto an armrest, he shouted, "You were _supposed_ to convince him to join our side, Ashelin!"

Ashelin folded her arms. "Right. How was I going to do that? After what you and Even did to him in the Fortress?"

Praxis stood up. "That was _necessary_ for the good of the city! Without the plan, Jak and Alexander are the best weapons we have!"

"Alexander is not a weapon," Ashelin insisted. "I know he'll see it, but he needs some time."

"He'd better," Praxis muttered. "Or else there's no hope for anyone in this world."

Ashelin was silent for a moment. "I'll do what I can." When Praxis just nodded, Ashelin turned around and walked out of the throne room.

The doors opened automatically, revealing Erol and a lanky nobleman in a blue trenchcoat. The latter smiled at Ashelin in a condescending way. "Milady," he said with a bow.

Ashelin narrowed her eyes and stepped through the door. "Count Veger," she replied flatly. These were not exactly people she was keen on seeing today, especially not together. She didn't even look at Erol as she walked past them.

Erol continued into the throne room, but Veger turned to follow Ashelin. "I understand Alexander has not yet arrived to join our cause," he said smoothly.

Ashelin stopped in the hallway and faced the Count. "He'll come around, Veger. Don't jump the gun on this."

"He's a pawn of the darkness, my dear," Veger replied, gesturing with his ruby cane. "The only thing separating him from Even is his flesh and blood."

"And his intentions!" Ashelin countered. "His heart is in the right place."

Veger's sneer didn't falter. He looked away slyly and muttered, "There's a saying about good intentions..."

Ashelin stepped closer. "Believe what you want. But if you do something to screw this up, it'll be the last thing you do."

The noble's face changed from a smile to a look of disappointment. "As if I want anything to do with the Baron's dark plans that are doomed to fail. No, while you follow Alexander into the depths, _I'll_ be looking for the real solution."

Ashelin didn't want to hear the Count's latest crazy scheme, but she feared it would be more dangerous to be unaware. "What are you planning?"

Veger's grin returned. "You tell me. What would be the opposite to Alexander's Lockshield, light to his darkness?"

The Baron's daughter quirked an eyebrow.

"A Keyblade, of course," Veger said, answering his own question. "Once we have that weapon of light, we will no longer be dependent on Alexander and his power." With that, he turned his back to Ashelin and walked in the other direction.

The Baron's daughter wasn't sure how to respond to that. "You really think you'll just stumble across this... Keyblade?" Ashelin asked incredulously.

"I'm closer than you think," Veger replied, not looking back.

* * *

"I don't know-"

Alexander jumped onto one of the rotating hexagonal... things just as a flat surface appeared (as opposed to one covered in spikes). Just ahead of him were panels charged with high-voltage electricity, so he couldn't go straight forward. But off to the right, barely visible, was a maintenance platform situated below the level of the support cable. So he had to make a leap of faith forward and _a little to the right_ just as the rotating thing shuddered and turned again.

"...how you DO THIS!"

Alex thankfully landed on his feet, a little behind Jak and Daxter. They were looking back at him with smug expressions. "What," Daxter challenged, "never done any platforming before?"

"No," Alexander answered honestly. "It was all just... fighting." He thought, the high winds filling the silence for a moment. "I mean, I've had to fight in some very tall places, but..." He glared back at the previous three-quarters of the support cable. "I haven't had to deal with swinging across poles, dodging turrets, avoiding electrified plates, and crossing drop-away platforms all at the same time!"

Jak rolled his eyes. "You've been cheating the whole thing anyway. What are you worried about?"

Alex grimaced. If he didn't have High Jump and Aerial Dodge, he'd have plummeted – possibly to his death – several times over by now. Naturally, that thought didn't bolster his confidence. "W-Whatever. We're almost there."

The palace's upper levels were nearly in sight. Only one stretch of platforms separated them from reaching their goal. Unfortunately, as they climbed back up to it, a couple of turrets at the very end of the cable began to fire constant streams of shots. They were situated on a rotating ring, so their red Eco shots passed across the length of the platforms in regular intervals.

Jak watched them rotate and fire for a while, sitting safely out of range for the moment. The last turrets had only fired in bursts, making them relatively easy to avoid and destroy. These weren't going to be so easy. "Alright, if we jump over the shots at the right times..."

"Oh, heck no," Alex muttered. He placed his hand on Jak's shoulder and muttered, "_Chronos Break_."

There was a massive ripple in time and space. For Jak, Daxter, and Alexander, all color disappeared from the world, and everything fell silent.

Jak and Daxter were bewildered, but Alexander dragged them up the platforms. "Come on," he spoke, his voice suddenly loud in the complete silence. "This only lasts a little while. Get going!"

As they passed over the final length of the support cable, they could see the Eco shots of the turret frozen along the sides of the cable. There were even small droplets of water hanging in midair. The turrets themselves didn't move an inch.

Then, as they passed over the turret ring and reached the final platform up against the Palace walls, the effect stopped. The dark reds and blues of the Palace under the night sky returned. The background noises of the city started again. The turrets continued firing for a few seconds, then powered down. The rain resumed its slow, gradual drizzle.

Jak shot Alex a look. "Was that... what I think that was?"

Alexander took a deep breath. "...Yep. That was... pretty much a time stop."

Daxter went wide-eyed and pointed. "Hax! That is totally O.P.!"

"No, no..." the Interference muttered. He had to put his hands on his knees for a moment. "It takes, like, half of my magic power to do, only for a short time, and... Yeah. It's been a while since I last did that."

Jak looked up to the Palace walls. The nearest platform they could reach was a little ways above them. Only a few independent square platforms jutting out of the wall made getting up there possible. "Think you can manage getting up a few more platforms?"

Alex looked up and sighed. "Yeah, just give me a sec."

Jak and Daxter went ahead and climbed up the platforms. As they reached the top, Alexander used a couple of High Jumps to get to their level.

At last, they were at the Palace. They weren't really inside, and the rain was starting to come down in force, but at least they had made it across safely.

The tower went up a few stories higher, but they were atop the bulkiest part of the Palace: that which housed the living quarters and royal chambers. At least, that's what Alexander assumed was underneath their feet.

At any rate, Alex knew that the most important part of this visit was right in front of them. A great glass ceiling overlooked the throne room. Alexander walked up to it and beckoned Jak and Daxter to follow him.

The glass ceiling started with an upward diagonal side and then flattened out. Once they climbed up to that point, they had a perfect bird's-eye view down into the throne room. They could see Baron Praxis and Erol near the throne, and a large, bright projection of a Metal Head in the middle of the room. Despite listening through the glass, they could fairly clearly hear the conversation playing out below.

"I won't be ready to move until the end of the next day, at the latest," Baron Praxis said to the projection in a calm, controlled tone.

"_In the meantime,"_ the Metal Head Leader's hologram growled, _"WE will be fighting a losing battle, and every death adds one more to their horde! Time is growing short, Baron. Get him on our side immediately, or you will know what it means to lose your heart to the darkness."_

With those morbid parting words, the hologram deactivated and disappeared.

Alexander did a take. That was _definitely_ not the conversation from the game. What the heck was going on around here? He listened very carefully to what was said afterward.

As soon as the Metal Head Leader was gone, the Baron turned away and chose to stare out one of the rain-slicked windows. Erol snarled and spat, "This is our chance! We can wipe out the Metal Heads once and for all!"

"Then we will be alone against the Heartless," Praxis calmly replied, not looking away from his view of the city. "No, we can't simply exchange one foe for another. Like it or not, Commander, this is an enemy we can't fight alone."

"So we fight them, and THEN what will become of us?" Erol demanded. "What happens when this flimsy alliance comes to an end?"

"Then…" The Baron finally faced his subordinate. "…we move forward with the plan. Tell Ashelin to up her patrols. I want that Tomb found!"

Erol seemed to drop his issue, albeit grudgingly. He wasn't terribly confident, though. "But your daughter has not been… agreeable."

"She knows how dire the situation is," Praxis argued. "Ashelin won't be a problem."

Up on the roof, Jak glanced at Alex. "The Baron has a daughter?" he whispered.

Alex put his palm to his face. Of course Jak wouldn't know about Ashelin, since he himself had gone to meet her instead… He just nodded and focused back on the throne room.

"And find that child!" the Baron shouted. "If you spent half as much time looking for that little brat instead of flirting with that mechanic girl, we would've pinned his royal ass to a wall long ago!"

Alexander tuned out of the conversation at this point, since it was now reflecting the normal one from the game. Clearly, the arrival of the Heartless had affected things in the world… But the last time they'd checked, Even was one of the Baron's allies. Had something changed?

While Alex was lost in thought, Daxter sneezed, spitting a great green ball of snot and mucus onto the glass ceiling.

Below, Erol pulled out his pistol and looked straight up. "What was that?"

Jak and Alexander laid flat against the steel supports, Jak's hand on Daxter's mouth. Hopefully they were hidden from sight, but… Alexander knew better. They were in for a boss fight for sure.

* * *

Erol sheathed his pistol and turned toward the doors. "Intruders. I'll go deal with them."

The Baron held a hand up. "If these are the people we think they are, then we don't want to attack them. We still need Alexander as an ally."

Nothing more was said, as the warping sound of a dark portal filled the air, and a black whirling mass appeared in the center of the throne room. From it, a man in a black and silver coat emerged with a frustrated look on his face.

"I'm in the middle of an _important_ experiment," Even muttered, "Alexander has chosen to sneak onto the roof, and so far I haven't seen anyone _doing_ anything about it! Do I have to do _everything_ around here?"

Erol rolled his eyes. "I was just about to-"

"No matter!" Even interrupted him. "I've already sent my assistant to deal with the problem. And _this time_..." He settled a deadly serious look onto Erol and the Baron. "...he won't miraculously survive."

* * *

"You're being awfully quiet," Daxter said to Alexander as the group made its way across the Palace rooftop.

Alex didn't say anything, but put a hand to his forehead. Now that they knew about the Interference phenomenon, the dynamic duo was acting much more suspicious than usual. Ironically, they'd been more trusting when they _hadn't_ known his true background.

"So what exactly was that about?" Jak asked, apparently deciding that now was a good time to interrogate the Interference. Alex didn't answer right away, so the hero continued. "It sounded like something's got the Guard and the Metal Heads-"

"I don't know!" Alex shouted very suddenly, whipping around to face Jak. "This is... This is all messed up! Not how it's supposed to go in the game!" Alex let out a sigh.

Jak and Daxter glanced at each other. "Wait, so things are different?" Jak inquired.

Alexander just nodded, his expression and vocal tone becoming more frustrated by the second. "Rrrgh... That's the whole point of the Interference. Everything starts out the same, but then we just end up changing things. ...Even if we don't mean to."

Daxter seemed to get it. "But Even's new too. So HE'S been changing stuff at the same time you're changing stuff."

"But that's what I don't get," Alex said, finally turning around and walking forward. "I thought Even had joined forces with them. But now it seems like... like... Well, I don't even want to think about it."

They were now standing in a large open area, next to a ledge overlooking the long drop down into the city below. Alex signaled Jak and Daxter to stop. This was where their first boss battle would be taking place, against one of the Baron's battle mechs. All they had to do was wait.

And wait.

While nothing happened.

"Uh, what's up?" Jak wondered.

"We're kind of trespassing, buddy," Daxter pointed out. "Hanging around, waitin' for the guards to show up is a SLIGHTLY terrible idea."

"...This doesn't make any sense," Alex said, his voice barely above a whisper. "...Baron definitely saw us, so why wouldn't he attack us?"

"_Because I was sent instead."_

To their right, two Tesla-coil-like structures powered up, creating a wall of electricity between them that sealed off the way forward around the rooftop. Alex looked around wildly for the voice that had come out of nowhere. Jak immediately reached for his Morph Gun. "That voice..."

Finally, Alexander found the source: A dark portal across the clearing, tall enough for a person to enter through. And enter through someone did – a figure slightly shorter than Alexander, wearing a full suit of green armor and a similarly armored helmet that covered the entire face.

And this figure was carrying a Lockshield in its right hand.

"...the HELL?" Alexander shouted, visibly recoiling from the figure.

Jak pointed his Scatter Gun at the figure, while Daxter groaned, "Not this guy again..."

Alexander looked between the figure and Jak very rapidly. "You... know this thing?"

The figure sighed with a voice that sounded very much like a younger version of Alexander. "'That thing'... C'mon, buddy. After all this time, you should at least be able to pick me out of a crowd. Not to mention out in the open, in the rain, on a high rooftop."

Alex could barely believe what he was hearing. "JOUMAE?"

The stranger threw his hands up in celebration. "And we have a winner!" He put his hands on his helmet and lifted, and the helmet faded away in a cloud of black smoke. Underneath was a mess of spiky green hair, striking green eyes, and a face that looked exactly like Alexander's from two years ago.

Jak kept his gun on Joumae, but his glare turned into a grimace. "Alex, explain!"

"He's...!" Alex started, but faltered. "This doesn't make any sense..."

"It didn't make any sense to BEGIN with, Alex. Stop kidding yourself," Joumae teased him. Looking to Jak, he said, "Let's just say I had humble beginnings in this guy's head, as a mental construct of his inner darkness." He shrugged. "Kingdom Hearts is weird like that."

"You said..." Alexander growled, "you said the Dark Eco Treatments were going to wipe you out!"

It was Daxter's turn to hold his head in frustration. "I don't even..."

"Whatever I said, it turned out differently," Joumae said calmly. "That Even managed to get a little darkness out of you during his experiments. Turned out to be me! He was kind enough to give me a form of my own. So... you can imagine what kind of debt I owe him." Joumae smirked evilly. "And as perks go, taking you down a notch isn't so bad either."

"Alex," Jak interrupted, "this guy attacked us at the Stadium. He was going to try and kidnap Keira."

Alexander's eyes went wide. "So that's how it is." He summoned the Lockshield and got into a fighting stance.

Joumae grinned even wider. "Ha! You have no idea what you're up against, do you? You've been waving that shield around for two years, with me in your head, and you still haven't Mastered it!"

"Want to find out?" Alex challenged him.

"You don't get it, do you?" Joumae shouted. He lifted his Lockshield up, the Kingdom Copy. "You... don't... DESERVE IT!"

In a flash, Joumae's face was an inch from Alexander's own, and the Kingdom Copy's front was pressed against Alex's chest.

"_Unlock_."

There was a burst of light, and Alexander was thrown to the ground. He groaned and clutched at his chest, right above his heart. "What... What the hell?"

Jak looked between Alex and Joumae, momentarily confused. Joumae did nothing; he just stood back and watched Alexander, grinning.

Alexander got to his feet and held out his hand, which became covered in an inky black smoke. But, to Alex's surprise, the smoke never solidified into the Lockshield. And no matter what he did, he couldn't seem to dispel it.

Instead, the darkness started _crawling up his arm_.

Joumae cackled. "You should see the look on your face!"

Everywhere the darkness touched became cold and numb. A terrible sensation of despair and hatred, from the cesspool of all the negative emotions he'd been bottling up, began creeping into his mind. "What... What did you DO?" Alexander managed to shout.

"Opened the floodgates," Joumae replied simply, still grinning. "It's not MY fault you can't control your darkness once you REALLY let it loose!"

The darkness was up to his shoulder, tendrils reached across his chest and neck. Alexander willed the Lockshield to appear as hard as he could, but all he could find was raw darkness. Through the haze of despair, Alex managed to focus on one thing: Rage against Joumae. The Lockshield might be out, but that didn't mean he was without power!

His right arm was almost completely numb, but his left arm was still free. He held it up and prepared the Flame Alchemist's glove he was wearing. He found it difficult to focus on concentrating the oxygen in the air to create an explosion, but he did his best... and snapped his fingers.

There was a fiery explosion, alright. But nowhere near Joumae.

If this wasn't a video game universe – if Alexander wasn't wearing magical garments that kept him behaving like a video game character – his arm would've been blown off.

For the second time, Alexander crashed to the ground. This time, he stayed there while the darkness enveloped his body. The Flame Alchemist's glove was completely shredded.

Daxter jumped off Jak's shoulder while the hero kept his gun trained on Joumae. The Ottsel stopped a few inches away from Alex's side, unsure of whether he should try to help while the darkness was still spreading. It was covering his whole head and most of his upper body now.

Finally, Jak stepped towards Joumae, putting the business end of the Scatter Gun in Joumae's face. "Whatever you did, undo it."

Joumae grinned even wider. "Too late now, pal. Alexander's as good as dead. Even worse than dead – he's gonna become a Heartless."

Reluctantly, Jak peered back over his shoulder to look at Alex.

Alexander's body was no longer visible, completely enveloped in the pitch-black wisps. A few moments afterward, a purple-pink light began to shine from where Alex's chest was, becoming brighter and brighter as his dark body lifted into the air...

Then a scream pierced the silence and the rain. Violet energy lit up Alexander's body, sparking from every fiber of his being. The purple-pink light disappeared, along with all of the darkness covering his body, and Alexander dropped back down to the ground. The violet sparks slowed to a crawl, then stopped entirely.

There was silence for a little while longer. Then...

"You have GOT to be kidding me," Joumae deadpanned. "Even's not gonna be happy about this."

Jak looked away from Alex and focused back down the Morph Gun's barrel.

"Well, he can't use any of his powers," Joumae muttered to himself, as if Jak wasn't there. "Shouldn't be too hard to finish him off, but the boss specifically wanted his heart..."

He was interrupted with a red blast to the face.

Joumae was thrown back, but managed to stay on his feet. "Oh, come on!" the younger Alex-copy shouted. "I'm doing you a favor! Now you can get back in the spotlight again!"

Jak just pumped back the forestock of the Scatter Gun. Daxter ran up to him and jumped onto his shoulder.

Joumae quirked an eyebrow at them. "I was just gonna go back and report to Even, but if you _really_ have a death wish..."

"Hey, jerkwad!" Daxter finally shouted. "No one messes with a friend of ours and gets away with it!" He hesitated and glanced at Jak. "Alex _is_ our friend, right?"

Jak smirked. "I guess so."

Joumae grinned back. "You do realize that I have the exact same magics and abilities Mr. Karsath had over there? It shouldn't take me too long to kick your-"

Another blast to the face.

"That's it!" The armored enigma brandished the Kingdom Copy Lockshield and charged at Jak.

Jak ducked under a high sweeping slash and jumped back from another slash at his midsection. When Joumae pointed the face of his shield directly at Jak and said, "_Blizzaga_," Jak jumped high to barely avoid the wave of icy projectiles. While Joumae was occupied with the recoil from his spell, Jak fired another Scatter Gun blast.

Joumae went stumbling back for a moment, then dashed forward. Jak fired again, but Joumae weaved out of the blast and ran far, far past Jak to the other side of the enclosure.

Daxter smacked Jak's shoulder pad. "Jak! Don't let him play keep-away!"

The armored youth turned and stood, silhouetted by the electric gate behind him, and raised his shield. "_Thundaga_," he muttered darkly.

Jak dodged to the side, lightning striking down where he'd been standing just a moment ago. The lightning charged the immediate area with electricity, meaning that Jak still got a hefty shock from the spell.

Joumae cast the spell again. This time, Jak jumped up and to the side, staying off the ground just long enough to avoid getting too badly shocked. He switched to the Blaster mod and started firing at Joumae, but the opponent alternated between casting his magic and blocking the blasts with the shield. A few shots got through, but for the most part Joumae was unharmed.

Then the lightning volley stopped, and the enemy intoned, "_Curaga_." Green light washed over the armored young man, healing whatever damage he'd sustained so far.

Daxter pointed at Joumae. "That's it! He must be out of magic! Go go go!"

Jak started running towards his opponent. Joumae grinned. "Oh yeah, furball?" The Kingdom Copy switched to a replica of Alexander's Crimson Catalyst Lockshield. The face of the shield glowed with the outline of a transmutation circle, and Joumae pressed it against the ground.

The hero dodged to the side as a row of stone spikes suddenly jutted out from the ground, barely avoiding getting impaled. Jak closed in, switched to the Scatter Gun again, and fired.

Joumae brought his shield back up just in time. The force from the Scatter Gun hit the shield and dissipated somewhat, pushing Joumae a little but dealing no significant damage. Joumae tried to go for a counterattack, but Jak had already reloaded and fired again, forcing Joumae to keep his shield up.

Jak kept shooting and shooting. Joumae managed to find a steady stance and hold his ground against the attacks, but Jak's constant firing at close range made it difficult to do anything else.

Finally, Joumae switched the Crimson Catalyst to a copy of the Time Fracture. "_Lightning_!"

The duo tried to dodge again, but the spell was too strong. A powerful bolt of Lightning crashed from the sky, shocking Jak for a significant amount of damage and stunning him.

Joumae took the opportunity to bring back the Lockshield for a swing. Unfortunately for him, Daxter chose that precise moment to leap across the distance between them and pounce on Joumae's spiky head.

"Gah! You... get off!" Joumae shouted. He tried to grab the Ottsel and throw him off, but Daxter was too fast as he climbed all over Joumae's head.

"Never!" Daxter snarled, chewing on one of Joumae's hair-spikes.

"Now!" Jak yelled.

"...Until now!" Daxter amended, and leaped back onto Jak's shoulder. Joumae looked up to find the Scatter Gun's business end in his face... again.

"Oh cr-"

The blast sent him flying back. It was only then Joumae realized that all this time, Jak and Daxter had been pushing him into a corner. Right up against the electric fence.

Joumae landed right between the two spires, in the middle of the wall of energy. The air was filled with his screams and the buzzing of the electricity as the high-powered barrier shocked him for all he was worth. Eventually, Joumae managed to drag himself back out of the trap, but another Scatter Gun shot forced him back in again.

Jak stepped back and switched to the Peace Maker mod. He charged up an electric singularity and fired it directly at Joumae while he was in the energy wall.

The extra, violent energy surged through the system and overloaded the spires, causing them to explode in a bright burst of electricity. Jak and Daxter shielded themselves as Joumae was caught in the middle of the explosion, consumed by the discharge of energy.

The light eventually died down, and the dust settled a little while after. Joumae lay flat on the ground, his spiky hair singed and his armor severely burnt. The spires of the electric gate were in shattered pieces around him.

Jak took a couple of steps forward, intending to check whether Joumae was alive or not. But when the armored young man groaned and reached to push himself up, Jak decided he didn't need to get any closer.

Daxter's eyes went wide. "He _survived_ that?"

Joumae coughed and looked up at Jak weakly. The hero kept the laser sight of the Peace Maker trained on Joumae's forehead. The Alexander look-alike said, "I'm 0 for 2, aren't I?"

Jak said nothing.

The doppelganger chuckled. "Well, against you. On Alex I'm now 1 and 0. ...Or one-half and 0. The other half will be when..." He coughed and wheezed, trying to catch his breath. "...when the darkness takes over. When there's no more Dark Eco left to keep it at bay. So, I guess... mission accomplished, sorta."

A pool of darkness formed underneath Joumae – a Dark Corridor that slowly sucked him in through the floor. Joumae kept grinning as he sank into the darkness.

"Have fun for now," Joumae said. "None of you have much time left."

And then he was gone. The dark portal closed, leaving Jak, Daxter, and Alexander alone on the rain-slicked rooftop.

Jak put his gun away while Daxter just shook his head. "Magical pain in the butt," the Ottsel growled. "And we're probably gonna have to face him AGAIN, aren't we?"

"Let's worry about that later," Jak replied. He ran back to where Alexander's prone body lay. "For now, let's get out before another problem shows up."

"I hear that," Daxter agreed.

Jak nudged Alex to see if he could be roused to consciousness. Alex stirred a little and rolled onto his side away from Jak, curling his body inward a little.

"Alex," Jak called to him. "Alex, we gotta go."

Alexander groaned a little and muttered something under his breath.

"Can you walk?" Jak asked. Without waiting for an answer, Jak grabbed Alex's arm and slung it over his other shoulder. With an effort, Jak pulled Alex unsteadily to his feet. Alex's eyes were closed, his feet dragged along the ground, and the only thing keeping him up was Jak's support.

Alex moaned from the effort. "Just... Just let me..."

"C'mon," Jak interrupted him. "Stay with me. We'll get you out of this. We'll-"

Jak stopped as he heard the sounds of heavy footsteps and weapons cocking. Daxter grimaced. "Uh... Jak, we've got trouble."

Slowly, the heroes turned around to see a platoon of Krimzon Guards, led by Baron Praxis, surrounding the entire group on all sides. Every trooper had their rifles aimed at Jak, while the Baron stood in the middle of them and simply glared at Jak.

Jak hefted Alex up to support him with one arm, and reached for his Morph Gun with the other. In a moment, Jak had the Scatter Gun pointed right back at the Krimzon Guards.

There was a long, awkward silence while the rain poured down on all of them. Then the Baron let out a deep breath. "That boy needs Dark Eco, now," he said calmly but firmly. "If you come with us, we can save his life."

"And _why_ would _you_ be concerned with anyone's life?" Jak spat back. "You're running a war just to stay in power."

"Jak, it doesn't matter what we want anymore!" the Baron shouted. "You want revenge. I want your head on a pike. But your new friend has created a problem much bigger than the two of us, and he's the only one with the power to solve it. So I'll only say this one more time: Give. Me. The. Boy."

Jak kept his gun up. "No," he replied simply. "What you're _going_ to do is get us a vehicle and let us go."

"If he doesn't get a Dark Eco Treatment in the next hour, he's _DEAD_!" the Baron yelled.

"I'll get him that Eco," Jak said. "And then we'll figure out how to fix this. But we're NOT going with you. So, if you'd get us a vehicle..."

The Baron took another deep breath. "...Fine. Do what you want. It's Alexander I need to speak to, anyway. Just bring him back in one piece."

One of the Krimzon Guards spoke into his radio. A large KG Hellcat Zoomer that had apparently been waiting nearby floated up to the edge of the roof. The Krimzon Guard driving it disembarked, and Jak climbed on. The hero deposited Alex's mostly lifeless body into the other seat and took the controls himself.

"Bring him back ALIVE!" Praxis shouted again as Jak flew down into the city.

* * *

Jak flew down into the Water Slums. It was a tight fit, driving the over-wide vehicle through the crowded, rickety paths, but Jak managed as quickly as he could. At his side, Alexander's breathing became more pained and rapid.

They finally touched down next to the Precursor Oracle's hut. Jak had to pull Alexander out of his seat and drag him inside.

The gold statue took notice of them immediately. _"What is the meaning of this?"_

"Somethin' happened to Al here," Daxter explained quickly. "He needs a shot of the dark stuff for some reason, or else he's gonna turn into a Heartless... we think."

The Oracle was quiet for a moment. _"Place the young one in front of me."_

Jak slowly lowered Alex onto his knees in front of the Oracle, then stepped back. He watched as a bolt of Dark Eco shot out from the statue and into Alex's chest, lifting him up into the air.

"_It is through twisted good fortune that you still live, traveler,"_ the Oracle said as Alex writhed in midair. _"The Dark Eco, possessed of its own will, has claimed you. It will never surrender your body, even the power of darkness itself, so long as its power courses through your veins."_

Alex dropped back to the ground, Dark Eco sparking around his body. His Anti Form didn't appear, but he appeared relatively normal.

"_But this power to survive will not last forever,"_ the Oracle continued. _"The darkness in your heart will grow stronger each passing hour until it consumes you completely, if you don't find a way to stop it."_

Daxter glanced down at Alex. He seemed to be unconscious again. "Okay, bright-eyes, how's he supposed to stop this stuff if he can't use his powers?"

"_His power is rooted in the very darkness that now threatens his heart,"_ the Oracle said. _"...It is Alexander's trial to overcome."_

Jak folded his arms thoughtfully. "So Joumae turned Alex's powers against him..."

Daxter grimaced. "...and it's Alex's problem to fix. If he ever wakes up."

"_Leave him to rest, for now,"_ the Precursor Oracle advised. Alexander seemed to be completely out cold.

The duo left Alexander to rest on the floor and went out into the Water Slums. As the door closed behind them, Daxter shook his head. "Crazy night, huh?" The sky was starting to brighten up with the first light of dawn. "Y'know, for what it's worth, I could use a drink and a nap myself."

Before Jak could comment, a loud rumbling shook the city. Out of nowhere, a colorful, fiery meteor soared through the air and landed far to the south, causing a bright explosion somewhere in South Town that could still be seen from the Water Slums.

The city-wide alert started up immediately. People around them started to panic, the Krimzon Guards mobilized, and smoke rose from the impact point. Then, a few seconds later, more flashes of color fell from the sky and into the city, apparently having been thrown in all directions from the explosion.

A few of the strange objects landed in the Water Slums. Some fell in the water, but one landed on the Oracle-hut's roof and bounced down to the walkway where Jak stood. It was a bright blue cube. Jak picked it up – it was soft to the touch but retained its shape perfectly, like some kind of rubber.

Jak pocketed the strange object. "Looks like it's going to be a crazy day, too."

Daxter sighed in resignation. "Might as well get started."

The dynamic duo climbed back into the Hellcat Zoomer and lifted off, heading straight for the source of the disturbance. The Krimzon Guard had a head start on them, but they'd be on the scene before too long. With Alex out of commission and Haven's entire political balance now a mystery, it was up to Jak and Daxter to figure out what was going on.

Again.


End file.
